COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — Growing up, Shayla Anderson was friends with Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. They went to school and hung out together.
“They were such big personalities,” Anderson said. “They were friends of everyone.”
Anderson misses them.
So on Saturday, in the wind and the rain at City Park, she joined a small group to remember and honor the young women slain nearly two years ago.
They placed flower petals on the grass and flowers near the "Bestie Bench” looking out toward Lake Coeur d’Alene which has a plaque next to it with the names, Maddie May and Kaylee Jade. Under their names, it reads “#Itsaforeverthing.”
For Anderson, it will be a gathering point to remember Mogen and Goncalves.
“Having a place like that to share with friends and family is extremely important,” she said.
About 50 people met for a brief ceremony and prayers as part of a dedication of two benches, the other honoring Xana Kernodle, slain in the same attack in Moscow. Mogen, Goncalves and Kernodle were University of Idaho students and roommates in an off-campus house.
The plaque bearing Kernodle’s name includes the quote, “One of the most important things you can do in life, enjoy the ride, not the destination.”
Angelea Navejas, who co-founded the Made With Kindness Foundation, said all three women loved the water and spent summers boating and on the beach.
“It was important for us to have a space dedicated to the memory of the girls,” she said. “We thought, 'What better spot than overlooking Coeur d’Alene Lake?'”
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