Jessica Ridgeway: Hundreds gather to remember slain Colorado girl

(CBS) WESTMINSTER, Colo. - More than 1,000 people gathered in Westminster on Saturday in remembrance of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway, whose body turned up in a suburban Denver park after a weeklong search for the missing girl, CBS Denver reports.

Pictures: Body of 10-year-old Colo. girl found

Jessica was last seen walking to Witt Elementary School on Oct. 5. Authorities discovered a body Wednesday in an Arvada park about 7 miles west of her Westminster home. They announced Friday that the body belonged to Jessica.

Most of the people who stood in a parking lot Saturday had never met the fifth-grader. Still, they joined hands and prayed together before releasing purple balloons in the sky to remember Jessica. Purple was her favorite color.

On Friday, the community gathered at a Chelsea park where Jessica would meet her friends and walk to school every day. The park was temporarily named "Jessica Park" for the occasion.

More coverage of Jessica Ridgeway on Crimesider