Peace Walk for Caylee Brings Closure to Some Locals
It was a silent and somber walk through a familiar neighborhood on Sunday just hours after Casey Anthony was released from the Orange County Jail.
Following Anthony's high profile prison release early this morning, a group of Orlando residents organized a “Peace Walk for Caylee,” in memory of her 2-year-old daughter whose remains were found in the swampy woods just off Suburban Drive in 2008.
The memorial walk was held to remember a little girl whose life was cut short by unknown reasons.
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The walk held the theme “Seeking justice from a Higher Power” and began at 2 p.m., wrapping up around 4 p.m.
The walk started at Caylee's memorial and went around the Chickasaw Oaks neighborhood. Organizers started the walk on Facebook in the hopes of getting the community to focus on Caylee, and not her mother.
The event, described on Facebook, was started by a man named Ben Laney who invited people to the Chickasaw Oaks subdivision near Suburban Drive in Orlando.
For many who participated in the walk, it was a time for closure.
"I came today to say my goodbyes and to be a part of this," Karen Gilreath, an area resident, told reporters, "to let little Caylee know that we love her and miss her and someday justice will be done."
A steady stream of spectators have stopped by the wooded area today that has slowly turned into a makeshift memorial site for Caylee Anthony with teddy bears, balloons, candles and signs.
The memorial site continues to grow, despite the fact that the rain has flooded out the area. Community residents are looking for a more permanent, drier spot, according to messages on Facebook.
The small section of woods is near the Anthony family home. For many who visit the site, it’s a day of painful memories.
Messages on the “Peace Walk for Caylee” Facebook page have been posted throughout the day.
“I want to come but don’t have a way there form Lakeland but will be setting off purple ballons and candles at about 7pm today/wish I new someone from Lakeland that could ride with but RIP Caylee. You are so loved – she has a birthday coming soon,” one person posted.
Meanwhile, there has been a heavy presence of law enforcement, with at least a dozen deputies patrolling the area.
When the crowd returned to the site after the peace walk today, the organizer reminded participants where Caylee Anthony is now.
“I want you to know this is not the site where Caylee’s remains are; this is where she lives on, her memory,” said Laney.
Casey Anthony was freed from the Florida jail about 12:09 a.m. on Sunday morning just 12 days after she was acquitted of murder in the death of her daughter.
There were no video visitations with Anthony’s family scheduled on her last day in jail. She hasn't taken any since 2008.
Her final meal at the jail consisted of turkey rice casserole, bread, green beans, cake and milk.
Anthony, wearing a pink T-shirt with blue jeans, left the jail with her attorney, Jose Baez.
She was given $537.68 in cash from her jail account and escorted outside by two sheriff's deputies armed with semi-automatic rifles.
Neither Anthony or Baez said anything to reporters as they hurried to the dark SUV outside the front door of the jail.
Only three journalists were allowed to be inside the Orange County Jail as Anthony took her first steps as a free woman.
“I couldn't believe it was actually happening. It was a closing to a three-year story,” Red Huber, a still photographer for the Orlando Sentinel, told reporters.
“I thought maybe she would have shown more emotion going out but her and Jose were very focused, very much on a mission to get out.”
The entire jail exit early this morning lasted just 15 seconds before she walked out the door and into a waiting SUV.
Anthony was headed to parts unknown as a frenzy of news crews tried to follow the dark SUV and other decoy cars set up to confuse the public about where she will spend the next chapter of her life.
“It is time for all of us to move on and put this nightmare behind us,” said Carole Strong, a resident in Mobile, Ala. who has been following the case since the beginning.
“A little girl is gone and a family has been torn apart. I am going to pray for Casey Anthony and her family because that is what we should all do as Christians. Caylee is with our Father in Heaven as all the children whose lives were taken from us too soon.”
