RENEE BELL Crestview News Bulletin Editorial Assistant cnbrenee

CRESTVIEW — A group of relatives and friends gathered March 27 in honor of Calandra Stallworth, a Crestview resident who has been missing for a year.

Lighted candles and flowers surrounded Stallworth’s photo placed on a chair on her grandmother’s porch, just a few feet away from the  house Stallworth once rented for herself and her two daughters.

Daniel Jackson of Crestview, an assistant minister, led the event with a prayer. He asked the Lord to be with the family and strengthen them, as well as to be with case investigators and law enforcement to encourage them to keep on looking and searching for answers.

The ceremony was naturally emotional for Stallworth’s mother, Shelia Knight. Relatives comforted her when she called out her daughter’s name.

The brief ceremony concluded with a balloon release. Participants moved clear of the trees into the street. They let go of the balloons and said, “We love you, Calandra!”