

“When people hear about the ranch, they usually assume that the girls have done something wrong or bad to get there. One of the surviving girls, who was traveling in a separate vehicle, wept as she spoke about her "little sisters," al.com reported. Students and community members gathered for a prayer service Sunday at Reeltown High School, the school the girls attended. Grim-faced workers and volunteers came and went in silence as the chief executive struggled to keep his emotions in check.

flag flew at half-staff at the ranch on Monday, and bouquets of flowers decorated a sign. The group was heading back to the ranch near Camp Hill, northeast of Montgomery, after a week at the beach in Gulf Shores.Ī U.S. The van was carrying children ages 4 to 17 who were being cared for at the ranch, which is operated by the Alabama Sheriffs Association and takes in abused and neglected children, including foster children. Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock said multiple vehicles probably hydroplaned in the vacationer-heavy area he said was “notorious” for dangerous conditions where the northbound highway curves down a hill to a small creek. The van in Saturday's crash erupted in flames in the wreck along a wet Interstate 65 about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Montgomery. Search dogs located the body of a man believed to have fallen into the water during flash flooding in Birmingham, according to news outlets.
