A tribute to Sandra Cantu sprang up after her disappearance in 2009. A memorial in her memory will be March 8. Press file photo
So on March 8, the family of Sandra Cantu will celebrate her memory at Robert Kenner Park next to Jacobson Elementary School, where she was a student.
Janet Anderson, a cousin of Maria Chavez, Sandra’s mother, said she’s spearheading the small public get-together so her family has something to look forward to.
She said as the anniversary of the little girl’s death approaches, Sandra’s family wants to focus on their love for her.
“This is something simple that might be a good way of not concentrating on such a horrible time, but what she represents,” she said.
Anderson said the celebration is also a way to thank countless volunteers.
Hundreds of locals helped the police and the FBI search for Sandra in the more than a week she was missing, and so many more supported the family through a trying year, she said.
“I personally think the family would’ve never made it without the community support,” she said. “They stepped up to the plate, from the littlest things to the biggest things. I’ve never seen a community come together so much, and I’ve lived here 17 years.”
Tracy police chaplain Don Higgins will speak, and cupcakes, donated by a local business, will be served.
Higgins said the “phenomenal” way people came together shows Tracy’s community-oriented spirit.
“Sandra was the epitome, in a lot of people’s minds, of innocence, and that which we need to protect,” he said. “I think it really speaks to how this community views children and that we’re willing to go to great extremes to take care of them, protect them and watch out for them.”
Sandra disappeared last March from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, where she lived. Ten days later, her body was found inside a suitcase floating in an irrigation pond north of town.
Melissa Huckaby, a neighbor whose daughter used to play with Sandra, is awaiting trial on homicide, rape and kidnapping charges, and could face the death penalty if convicted.
At a glance
• WHAT: Remembrance Ceremony for Sandra Cantu
• WHEN: 7 p.m. March 8
• WHERE: Robert Kenner Park, 1850 Kavanaugh Ave.
• INFO: 321-5981
Sweet Sandra,
We may never know, why you were taken
But on that day, please know you were not forsaken
Hundreds of people looked and prayed
Thousands of posters with your face made.
The candle vigils held in the park
The light burning bright in the dark
We gather to pray and sing your favorite song
“Somewhere out there” could we right this wrong?
Then the news none of us wanted to hear
You were found, all of us shedding tears
Strangers now friends hold one another tight
You had brought us together for one last night.
May God hold your family and friends of yours close
It is your mommy who will miss you the most
Rest peacefully sweet Sandra, and feel our love
We will always remember our angel above.
Just so sad for the family, and praying for justice/closure for the Cantu family.
The light of Sandra Cantu has gone out, but the love she gave during her short life will remain.
God Bless All Of You.
CN
I saw her tiny little coffin in the horse drawn carriage.That was too much.
Then, I saw the carriage leave empty.
I will always be effected.
I can't imagine what her family is going through.
My thoughts and prayers.
I'm sure Sandra is very proud of her family.