Service will remember Andrea Gonzalez

By Staff
Melissa Cason
Community members will gather at the Russellville Church of God Monday night for a special prayer service commemorating what would be the 20th birthday of Andrea Gonzalez.
Service organizer Teresa Mitchell said that she decided to do something for Gonzalez's birthday because she did not want the day to pass by without any acknowledgement of the child.
"Ever since she has been missing, God has put the memory of the girl on my heart, and I want to prayer for her safe return home," Mitchell said.
She added that she believes Gonzalez is alive and is waiting for someone to find her.
"The purpose of the event is for us to pray for her return," Mitchell said. "I just don't believe that she is dead."
Anyone that wishes to speak out about child abuse, or anyone who remembers Andrea as a child before she was reported missing, are encouraged to attend the event.
There will be time dedicated to her memory and opportunities to talk about child abuse. There will also be special music at the ceremony and a balloon release.
"We decided to release 20 pink balloons in honor of Andrea," Mitchell said.
The event is an extension of the Where's Andrea website, which is dedicated to Andrea's memory.
"We are up to 270 friends on the webpage, and we have had over 4,000 visitors to our page so far," Mitchell said.
Photos of Andrea as a little girl have been displayed on the website, along with links to news stories and features on her disappearance.
"We feel like one day someone is going to see this website and call the police with leads on where to find Andrea," Mitchell said.
The website was published with the permission and cooperation of Andrea's family members.
"We got a lot of the photos [for the website] from Andrea's grandmother," Mitchell said.
Andrea was reported missing in November 1993, and while both her father, Paul Gonzalez , and her step-mother, Kim Gonzalez, admitted that the girl died due to scalding injuries, her body has never been found.
The ceremony for Andrea is set to begin at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/wheresandrea or email LittleGilrLostAG@aol.com