A table was set up inside the softball field with photos of the children.

MENTONE — Hundreds of community members gathered together tonight, Nov. 2, at the Mentone Youth League for a candlelight vigil to honor 6-year-old twins Xzavier Ingle and Mason Ingle and their 9-year-old sister, Alivia Stahl, who lost their lives and to offer continued support for Maverik Lowe, 11.

The children’s parents and members of the Mentone Youth League spoke during the vigil.

Alivia’s father Micheal Stahl described her as a loving, caring child, “She was the type of girl that she hated to see anyone struggling. She hated to see anyone upset.  She would comfort you, it didn’t matter, she would be there.”

“My daughter brought so much light in our lives and so much light in everyone else’s lives,” continued Michael. “And to see the impact that not just my daughter, but her brothers Mason and Xzavier, to see all of you here, the impact that our children have made on you. To see a community, not only in our own but in our state and in our country, to come together for this is just mind-blowing for all of us. It’s just unbelievable that our three babies, our three angels, could make that much of an impact .. to see that our children made that impact, means to us that our children’s lives weren’t in vain.”

“We feel your guys’ love and your prayers and your thoughts and it means the world to us. I know that we were being kind of quiet and that we were trying to handle it as a family and have time to grieve. But we hear you, we hear all of you,” said Michael.

Brittany Stahl, the mother of all three siblings, told the crowd that she hadn’t planned on speaking but decided to when she saw the crowd that came out. “A mother should never ever have to bury a child, let alone one, not two, not three. But I would feel so heartless if I didn’t come up here and tell you that I really thank you all.”

“I appreciate all the love and support that has come from this community because my babies loved this school, they loved Mentone. My babies lives were just started. What happened to my kids was horrific and I can’t even stand here and be selfish. We think about Maverik’s family as well … this is not easy. It’s not easy at all. We weren’t able to take our babies trick-or-treating and we aren’t able to see a lot of milestones.”

“We still have another victim though … my daughter Selena Stahl is Alivia’s sister and Mason’s and Xzavier’s. My baby girl wasn’t hit, she had a doctors appointment that day. But she heard all those screams from that bus stop. She is suffering. She is. It’s so hard because as parents all three of us are prepping to lay our babies to rest and we still have to pull it together and be a parent to our daughter Selena.”

During the vigil, a special prayer was said for Maverik. They prayed for healing thoughts and his recovery.

Alivia’s softball coach Dan Thompson announced that the Mentone Youth League is retiring number 14 in honor of Alivia. “No softball player from today on will ever wear number 14.”

“I can remember when she came out, she wasn’t a superstar when she came out … but she smiled, and loved it, and did not care,” remembered Dewar. “She started out the season batting 11th, and by the time we got to the 10th game … Alivia comes up to bat and the bases are loaded and she just smacks a triple, right down the line. The thing is, what was amazing isn’t the fact that she hit it or that we scored. It was that she had the exact same smile on her face when she hit that as when she struck out. That’s just the kind of kid she was, she was just all smiles.”