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Memorial for Murdered Montgomery County 14-Year-Old Grace Packer

Members of the Abington Township community have been coming together to honor the teen's life in wake of tragedy

A group of people who never met 14-year-old Grace Packer are pulling together memorials in the girl's honor after learning of her murder.

New Life Church in Glenside will host a memorial service for the teen on Monday, January 16, 2017 at 1 p.m., according to an online event posting.

Andrea Green-Adams is helping to put the memorial together which has been named Abington Loves Grace. Green-Adams didn't know the teen, but as a mother of a 14-year-old son said she was heartbroken to learn about Packer's tragic death and felt compelled to act.

"I couldn't just let that be the end of her story," she said. A second event is also being discussed.

Packer went missing from Abington Township in July following an apparent argument with her adoptive mother, Sara Packer. Hunters stumbled upon parts of her body in the woods of Luzerne County on Halloween. Prosecutors made her death public on Thursday and announced the mother was a person of interest in the case.

Sara Packer was already charged in connection with the girl's disappearance. Investigators said she hindered their missing person's investigation by delaying providing photos of the girl and lying about telling other family Grace was missing.

The mother, who was being held on bail, left the county jail on Friday. She, her attorney and Grace's family has not commented on the arrest or the girl's death.

Green-Adams set up a public Facebook group, In Memory of Grace Packer, for other members of the community to share thoughts about the the teen and help coordinate events.

"I did not know Grace, but the beautiful stories, memories, and anecdotes shared by those who did know her have taught me a great deal," John Spiegelman, a father, wrote in a lengthy post.

Jackie Horst, a mother who said her son was a close friend of Grace, posted photos of notes the teens wrote and flowers he got her.

"Grace was my son's best and only real friend last year. They rode the bus together, ate lunch together and talked on the phone or online," Horst wrote in one post. The text accompanied a photo of the wall of her son's bedroom that had Grace's name written on it.

"I couldn't wait to fix this spot on his wall but now I think we will leave it just the way it is," she said.

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