Family: Missing girl likely died of exposure, exhaustion

By JOSH BARNEY
Daily Progress staff writers
SHIPMAN — Jackie Holden’s interests were those of many bubbly 8-year-old girls: She loved unicorns and drawing and her dogs and, most of all, her family.
“In the morning, one of the first things we did, and what we did Sunday morning, were the big hug and kisses,” said the girl’s grandmother, Sherry Holden. “Every day, there were the hugs and kisses.”
But after her hugs and kisses early Sunday, the little red-haired girl with the big smile disappeared. Jackie apparently wandered away into the dense woods surrounding her Shipman home while her mother was sleeping after a long night at work.
A search team found Jackie’s body about four miles away, off Route 722, late Tuesday.
While autopsy results were still incomplete Wednesday night, Jackie’s grandmother said searchers told the family that it appeared the girl simply died of exhaustion and exposure to the cold winter nights.
“She just more or less collapsed, went to sleep and never woke up,” Sherry Holden said.
Investigators have said they do not suspect foul play.
Nelson County Sheriff Gary Brantley said in a prepared statement Wednesday that he could release no new information about the case.
“The sheriff’s office is presently awaiting results of the state medical examiner’s findings before [making] a final determination of cause and manner of death,” Brantley wrote.
Officials at the medical examiner’s office said it could be weeks before they can conclude what killed the girl.
In the meantime, Jackie’s family members are suffering through their loss as best they can, her grandmother said.
“Everybody’s trying to be strong,” she said. “Amy, she’s numb, of course.”
Despite her grief, Amy Holden spoke out Wednesday, saying she wished to express her gratitude to the hundreds of people who searched for her only child and who extended their love to her family.
“I want to give my thanks and support to the community for their efforts in helping find Jackie,” she said, her voice shrunken by pain.
Jackie’s grandmother echoed Amy’s words, expanding on what her daughter tried to say before being cut short by her own sobs.
“The outpouring of people that were here the first, second and third days just totally amazed me,” Sherry Holden said. “It was just unbelievable.”
The list of people Holden wanted to thank was long, from the searchers who combed the hillsides to radio station WCYK. The station honored Jackie early Wednesday by playing, as Holden put it, “the most appropriate song I could ever imagine, which is Alabama’s ‘Angels Among Us.’ ”
While nursing her own emotional wounds, Holden also was concerned about those who tried so desperately to find the lost little girl.
“I do not want anyone to think that they failed, because they didn’t,” she said. “They did their best.”
Jackie’s family will receive visitors at Wells Sheffield Funeral Chapel in Lovingston on Friday, from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 9 p.m.
All who participated in the search for the little girl are invited, Sherry Holden said. The family, she said, has tried to make the event as painless as possible so Jackie’s friends can attend.
“I feel that some of the parents of her friends are going to be shying away from bringing their kids to the funeral home,” the grandmother said. “We’ve made it possible that their last memory is not of her cold in her casket. She’s going to be asleep, covered in the blanket I made her, with all her favorite toys.”
A funeral will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Rock Spring United Methodist Church in Faber. Jackie will be buried in the church cemetery.