SARASOTA, Fla. -- Her case fascinated the world.
Caylee Marie Anthony was 2 years old when she went missing for five months in 2008. Her skeletal remains were found with a blanket inside a trash bag in a wooded area near the Anthonys' family home in Orlando.
Her mother, Casey Anthony, went on trial for her daughter's murder in 2011 but was acquitted.
Caylee's story touched a Sarasota couple. They put up a cross to mark where she was found, but the cross has mysteriously disappeared.
Three times.
“This is the fourth cross that’s going to Orlando. Three others have been stolen,” said Wally Goodnough. He and his wife Jeanine put up the first cross made out of wood in 2011 soon after visiting the spot where the 2-year-old’s body was found.
“When we went there, it was swamp," he said. "People were throwing toys on the ground. This gave them a place to put the toys. It was done out of love for a little girl we never met … it’s why we still do it today, so she’ll be remembered.”
But the cross has been stolen three times, the last time in 2016.
“Why would you steal a cross? asked Goodnough.
This fourth cross is made out of PVC.
“It should never rot away," he said. "It may walk away.”
It’s made with just as much love from this grandfather of 13. The cross is covered in butterflies and will have angels and a place to put flowers.
“The butterflies they are free she can now go where she needs to go," Goodnough said. "The purple heart, this was Caylee’s favorite color. The heart is for love and the flowers for love to let her know someone loves her and she is not forgotten.”
He said the grass around the cross is often neglected. He’s gone up to mow and remove trees fallen during the hurricane.
He’ll be in Orlando on Saturday putting up the new cross.
Goodnough has a message for whoever stole the other crosses.
“Please don’t steal it again. Let it be there for this little girl. It’s in honor of her. Nobody else is doing it for her, including her grandparents or her mother … This little girl was a real person and she didn’t get to live her life like all little kids should.”
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