Vigil held for lost 4-year-old boy after volunteer search effort

After five full days of days of searching, the Jefferson City community gathered at Washington Park to mourn the death of Darnell Gray.

Darnell’s body was found in Jefferson City earlier in the day, police announced at a press conference.

“Closure is here,” said Mary Coley, one of the dozens of volunteers that attended the vigil. “If you look around and see each other, you see love.”

Coley said she met volunteers from outside Jefferson City, Cole County and even outside Missouri that helped search around Washington Park and other areas.

Missouri Missing, a nonprofit that aids missing person searches, began organizing those who wanted to help find Darnell shortly after he was reported missing Thursday.

“We just feel graditude,” Marianne Asher-Chapman, director of Missouri Missing, said about the turnout of volunteers.

Another volunteer organizer said they plan on having another vigil for Darnell in Washington Park Saturday evening.