Sunset • The balloons — purple and pink, Rachael Runyan’s favorite colors — were handed out to the 30 or so people assembled Saturday in the park that bears her name.
It’s the same park where, on Aug. 26, 1982, someone — their identity still a mystery — abducted 3-year-old Rachael. Her body was found three weeks later in Morgan County, 20 miles away.
People wrote messages in marker on some of the balloons. Rachael’s mother, Elaine, wrote on hers: “I love you, Baby Girl. Always + Forever, Mama.”
Then the people let loose the ribbons on their balloons, which floated quickly up into the clear blue summer sky.