PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Candles lit up the plaza of a central Arizona courthouse Wednesday as hundreds gathered to honor the American woman taken hostage by the terror group ISIS.
Kayla Mueller's death earlier this month was confirmed by her family and U.S. officials. The 26-year-old international aid worker from Prescott, Arizona, had been captured in Syria in August 2013.
Friends, family and strangers wore pink ribbons on their shirts as they listened to speakers reflect on Mueller's life and work. Strangers and friends dropped off cards and wrote messages for a scrapbook, calling Mueller and angel and saying she represented the best of humanity.
Mueller's brother, Eric Mueller, encouraged the crowd to live as his first friend, best friend and sister did by reaching out to those who are suffering and give them a hug. His father, Carl Mueller, stood up and met him at the bottom of the stage and hugged him tightly.
"May God keep you from any more harm, any more hurt," Eric Mueller said to his sister. "You are in his hands now. You do not have to suffer anymore. Only now will you be able to see how much you did and truly did for this world by looking down on it from above."
Mueller's friends set up tables to accept canned goods and monetary donations for the needy, saying that's what Mueller would have wanted. "She was a saint," said Rebecca Dunn, who went to high school with Mueller. "I'm hoping someone can take on her legacy. There was nothing she couldn't do."
IN-DEPTH
- Slain ISIS Hostage Kayla Mueller's Boyfriend: 'She Wanted to Save Me'
- Kayla Mueller's Friends and Family: The World Is Better Because of Her
