FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – Prescott’s courthouse plaza will light up with candles Wednesday in memory of a hometown woman taken hostage by Islamic State militants.
Kayla Mueller’s death was confirmed earlier this month by her family and the U.S. government. The Islamic State group claimed she died in a Jordanian airstrike, but the Pentagon rejected that, saying it doesn’t know how she was killed.
Local churches and community groups organized the candlelight memorial to reflect on Mueller’s life and work as an international aid worker. It will feature a song Mueller’s mother used to sing to her as a child, “He Who Began a Good Work in You,” and the choir from Tri-City Prep College High School, where Mueller graduated in 2007.
Mueller’s friends will be accepting canned food and money to support the needy.
“Everyone that knew Kayla seemed to think that would be something she would have liked to see – the community getting involved in service and giving,” said Ron Merrell, a pastor at Heights Church in Prescott who will give introductory remarks at the memorial.