Residents have already raised $15,000 to help find youngster's killer

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THE CANADIAN PRESS

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EDSON, Alta. - Residents of an Alberta town where a 14-year-old girl was murdered last month hopes that barbecues and other events will raise enough reward money to find the killer.

"We don't care what it costs, we just want this person found so we can have our community back," said Carly Lapointe, who is spearheading efforts for the reward.

Emily Stauffer, 14, was killed two weeks ago while walking along a path in a residential area, an event which shook the community about 200 kilometres west of Edmonton.

A barbecue on Thursday brought in nearly $8,000, Lapointe estimated, and a similar event was planned for yesterday.

So far, she said about $15,000 had been raised since she suggested the idea on the social networking site Facebook last week.

"I know that murders happen everywhere, but when it's a small community and we all know each other, it just seems like there's such a great impact," said Lapointe, who has two young sons.

There have been no arrests in the case.

A few days after the killing, a woman reported that she was assaulted on a trail in the town, but RCMP later said that the claim was false.

Edson mayor Greg Pasychny said residents are starting to relax a little, noting that the false report made people feel that "there was somebody lurking in their community."

"We're seeing kids on the streets again, but people are a whole lot more cautious ... the trails aren't being used," Pasychny said.

The woman who made the false report has not been charged.

Lapointe, who moved to Edson in 2007, did not know Emily or her family, but she said she was depressed by the killing and felt something had to be done.

Since the killing, she has limited her sons' bike riding to the garage.

"We're all out for the same goal -- we're not going to take this in our small town," she said.