toledoblade.com --

DUNDEE, Mich. - Sharla Patterson took her children to a spot along the River Raisin - the place where 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan is believed to have been buried - because she was heartsick about the murdered child.

She also wanted to send a message to her four children, ages 7 through 13, about the danger of talking to strangers.

"I hope, out of all of this, that parents have learned to not let their children go outside unsupervised," Mrs. Patterson said Saturday. "I want parents to enjoy their children to the fullest and teach them to be cautious and aware. It's important for kids to know what happened."

A memorial of flowers and stuffed animals to Nevaeh, whose body appears to have been found Thursday after an 11-day search, sprang up along the guard rail that protects vehicles from going into the river.

VIEW: The disappearance of Neveah (photos, stories and video)

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The Pattersons of Raisinville Township were among mourners who drove to the overlook 20 feet above the site where the body of a girl matching Nevaeh's description was recovered from the shallow grave of dirt and concrete.

The tributes continued to grow as the day got warmer. Cars and trucks stopped and parked along Dixon Road's edge and their occupants went to the ridge to peer down the bank.

A bouquet of roses, daisies, carnations, and baby's breath adorned the hole that been excavated by criminal-evidence specialists.

"We are really sad because she got kidnapped and died," said Jessica, Mrs. Patterson's 7-year-old daughter.

Saturday night, scores of people turned out for a prayer vigil for Nevaeh at the conclusion of the Gathering Praise Festival at St. Mary's Park in Monroe.

Organizers said participants prayed that the person responsible for the tragedy would be found.

Among those attending were Bill and Debbie Shaw. The Shaws said that although they didn't know the girl's family, they took part in the search after Nevaeh was reported missing on May 24.

The body found by two fishermen - a Newport, Mich., man and his stepfather who had never fished from that bank before - was sent Friday to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office in Detroit for an autopsy and DNA testing to confirm the girl's identity.

Jessica Hutson, 8, of Monroe visits the site where a body believed to be that of Nevaeh Buchanan, 5, was found.
( THE BLADE/LORI KING )

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Nevaeh was reported missing about 8:30 p.m. May 24 by her mother, Jennifer Buchanan, 24, from the parking lot of their North Macomb Street apartment in Monroe.

Nevaeh's father, Shane Hinojosa, 22, clung to hope that the DNA comparison would show the child is not his daughter and the search could continue.

"We are just waiting on the phone call," Mr. Hinojosa of Toledo said.

"We are just keeping hope for right now that it is not her. We are having a lot of hope and a lot of faith."

Brytnea Patterson, 13, Mrs. Patterson's oldest daughter, said Nevaeh's abduction has left her afraid of being left alone outside.

Ed Zubkoff, who went with friends to the riverbank, had joined in the community volunteer searches. He said he felt that he needed to go to the river bank to help bring closure.

"I still can't get over it. The girl was only 5 years old. It is beyond belief," said Mr. Zubkoff, the father of a 12-year-old daughter and a 15-year-old son.

The Rev. Jack Quinlan, a Roman Catholic priest, was among Mr. Zubkoff's companions.

Father Quinlan, pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Monroe, said a prayer for the girl and her family as he stood near where the child was found.

"Even though we can never replace the loss and bring their loved one back to them, our hearts go out to them and embrace them," he said. "I think we should believe that the child is not lost and is now in the hands of God. Our hope is that we will see her again one day."

Chris Griffor, 32, scaled the rock and dirt bank to take a picture of the shallow grave with his cell phone.

Staring into the empty hole, the LaSalle Township resident suggested putting a stone monument near the guard rail as a permanent memorial to the girl.

"It's so sad to think that somebody took her and did that," he said.

Contact Mark Reiter at:
markreiter@theblade.com
or 419-724-6199.

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