The ceremonial ribbon skirts, worn by mourners at the funeral in South Dakota of 14-year-old McKenna Rose Wendel, were the girl's favorite colors: pink and purple.
A traditional Lakota star quilt that draped McKenna's casket had soft shades of red and purple stripes, the same colors her nails were painted when she died.
After going missing for nearly a week, authorities found McKenna’s body on March 19 in a rural area of Brookings, roughly an hour north of her home in Sioux Falls. Authorities have not said how they believe she died − explaining that they're awaiting the results of an autopsy this week − but they have vowed to get justice for the teen.
McKenna's devastated family laid her to rest on Thursday, March 26, in Sioux Falls, where she lived with her grandparents. Her community remembered the teenager, who also went by Kenna, as a bright and curious girl who loved animals and other "little critters."
She had a cricket habitat inside her locker at George McGovern Middle School and a dog named Iris. She took care of two hermit crabs before she had to bury them in her backyard. with a cross made by her grandpa.
