It has only been two days since Sarah Alarid’s car and body were discovered in the Angeles National Forest, and already the community support has been very meaningful, family members said Friday.

Wednesday night, hundreds gathered at Todd Longshore Park for a candlelight vigil in Sarah’s honor. Facebook pages that were dedicated to looking for Sarah during the last week are now overflowing with sympathetic comments (some from as far away as Florida), prayers, poems, memorial videos and pictures.

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“We want to say thank you to all the friends, family and the community of Sarah Alarid,” said the Alarid family in a statement released on Facebook Wednesday. 

“Your support has been amazing. Our gratitude towards everyone’s efforts can not be expressed enough along with the generous donations from the community.”

The community came together in the search for Sarah, so it is only natural that they would do the same to support the Alarids. But Alex Urbina of Life Leadership Training said that it is important to let the family grieve in private.

“I think one of the best ways for the community to support the Alarid family right now is to let them go through their own natural grieving process, give them some space,” he said.

As Mike Alarid, Sarah’s father commented, “The family is still dealing with it… The grieving process is probably amplified because of the whole situation.”

Urbina also hopes that people who were involved in Sarah’s story, even those who didn’t know her, will take time to go through their own grieving process.

“People came out in hundreds and towards the last three or four days, I think they were out there in the thousands, looking for Sarah,” he said. “People got clear that Sarah is our daughter, she is our niece, she is our sister, and that was just inspired by (the family’s) stand and their commitment to bring their daughter home.”

In the aftermath “I think one of the ways the community can go through their own grieving process is to share, not to bottle it up,” Urbina said. “…to communicate with the people you love… Maybe you’re opening up a journal and you’re writing it out, getting all that out… Maybe you’re experiencing it through emotions; you’re crying. It’s a natural process, and I would definitely give yourself permission to go through that process.”

If you would like to leave a message for the family, you can visit one of two Facebook pages, “Where’s Sarah Alarid” and “FIND Sarah Alarid.”

Donations are also currently being accepted at WheresSarah.com, to help the family cover the cost of services. Click here if you would like to donate.

A memorial for Sarah has not yet been scheduled, but Mike Alarid said that it would be open to the community. Check back for details on the service as soon as they are available.

Members of the Alarid family will be on Alex Urbina’s show, “Life Leadership with Alex Urbina” on Tuesday at 11 a.m.

More on the Alarid Story:

• Hundreds Support Impromptu Canyon Country Vigil For Alarid
• Jason Endicott’s full interview with Alex Urbina, host of Life Leadership
• Sarah’s Body Identified Days After Her Dissapperance
• Chili’s Supports Sarah Alarid’s Family, Cause Of Death Identified

• Article: Alarid Family: “Your Support Has Been Amazing”
• Source: Newsroom
• Author: Allison Pari
  

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