Red Oak man's granddaughter kidnapped, murdered

RED OAK — Local residents are urged to leave their porch light on overnight for the next couple days and wear pink and purple Friday in memory of a Red Oak man’s granddaughter who was kidnapped and murdered this week in Missouri.

Hailey Owens, 10, the daughter of Markus and Stacey Owens and granddaughter of Mark Scanlan, was abducted by a middle school football coach two blocks from her home Tuesday night in Springfield, Mo.

According to court records, her body was found four hours later inside Craig Wood’s basement. Wood has been charged with murder, kidnapping and armed criminal action.

Owens was walking home from a friends’ house two blocks away when she was abducted. There is no none connection between her and Wood, who taught in school suspension at a different school than the one Owens attended.

Since Owens’ death, several Facebook sites have been created to pay tribute to her and honor her memory.

One is “Porch Lights for Hailey Owens.”

According to the site, it “was created for Hailey's family to show them that the whole world mourns with them and that we will get justice for Hailey and she will not be forgotten!”

The site, which has also spawned other state specific ones, has received comments from states throughout the country and overseas as well, including Germany and Australia.

“In loving memory of Hailey Owens” features numerous tributes to her and currently has more than 158,000 likes.

Another site named “Wear Pink/Purple Friday in Honor of Hailey Owens” encourages people to dress in Hailey’s favorite colors for the day.

Memorial funds for the family have also been established at Empire Bank in Springfield.

Hailey’s great-grandmother, Connie Sparr, also lives in Red Oak.