COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A community affected by the death of an 11-year-old Colorado Springs boy wants to make sure he's never forgotten.
Sonic the hedgehog, drawings and balloons — all were dropped off by heartbroken community members to honor Gannon Stauch, the 11-year-old boy who went missing on Jan. 27 and was never seen again.
“This boy, he deserves something to be remembered (by),“ said Monica McEnroe.
On Monday, five long weeks after he disappeared from his Colorado Springs community, police arrested Gannon’s stepmother, Letecia Stauch, for his murder. His body has not been found.
“He goes to school with our kids. He plays with our kids, “ said neighbor Tauni Combs.
Now, the little boy’s community is making sure the child is never forgotten. Combs is leading a neighborhood push to name a park after Gannon.
“Gannon is a part of our community and we all care about members of our community here and it’s important for him to be remembered as who he was,” she said.
An Change.org petition to name a street after Gannon in his Lorson Park development has already gathered more 7,500 signatures in 24 hours.
“We don’t want Gannon’s name to be forgotten. We want him to be remembered for the amazing little boy that he was,” said Combs.
Jeff Peterrson’s daughter went to school with Gannon.
“He was that classic kid. Fun, out in front playing. Everybody’s buddy,” said Peterson.
Peterson said whether it’s a park or a street or both, he and his fellow neighbors support anything that will keep Gannon’s spirit alive.
“There’s a lot of people invested in this for Gannon and his family.I think it’s something that we should push for and something that I think is very appropriate in this situation,” said Peterson.
Combs said she’s presented the park plans to the Lorson Park development, and will finalize details “after then case wraps up."
And as the memorial for a special child grows by the hour, Peterson spoke for his entire community.
“I just want to see justice. We’re going to move on. We’re all going to be better people because of this,” he said.