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CNN Live Today

Sarasota Will Help Community In Wake of Carlie's Death

Aired February 06, 2004 - 11:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Sarasota is just south of the Tampa Bay area, but has managed to hold on to its own small town roots. Today, it is a community overcome with grief.
Sandy Macomber is a grief counselor in Sarasota. She is director of the children's program at Hospice of Southwest Florida.

Thank you for being with us on this emotional morning for your community.

SANDY MACOMBER, GRIEF COUNSELOR: Well, thank you for allowing us to be here. And yes, it is a very emotional time for our community. Everyone in it has been hoping and searching for Carlie for the past three days.

KAGAN: And I want to start with the kids. We were listening to the principal. He was on live, we were listening to a state in the last hour. And he talked about the support that is there, for the children. But these are kids that have been hanging on to hope for the last three days. How do you help children make that turn?

MACOMBER: Well, it's -- with anyone, it's just a very difficult time for them. And, yes, they have been holding on to the hope and they finally realized it's -- Carlie isn't going to come back.

And just to give them support, be with them, help them to go through the very sad time with the loss and death of their friend. They're young -- this isn't supposed to happen. It shows their vulnerability. They're not used to that.

The school system has a crisis team that works with them at this time. And later, when the shock kind of wears off and the reality sets in, they'll be -- we'll be there, Hospice of Southwest Florida will be there to be able to offer support to the students, to the teachers, and really to all of the community.

KAGAN: That's interesting when you talk about the timing, later. Everyone's very present in today, the terrible news coming early this morning. But this is something that will reverberate for some time to come.

MACOMBER: Absolutely. Right now, in the crisis and the shock of the situation, people are there. And there's kind of an initial reaction. But it's later on, in any grieving process, when it becomes a reality. And when -- there's not always a lot of support there afterwards and people forget this is something that goes on for a very long time. With these -- with the children, as they, you know, they get ready to move into the next class, and Carlie's not there, or something has happened, things that will bring her to mind, but the immediacy of the situation will be over. And that's when they're really going to need the support to help them get through this.

KAGAN: Yes, I think you can really appreciate the depth of the grief in Sarasota. Yet you have the kids, who you'd understanding being upset. And then as people were watching early this morning, when the police were making the announcement, they were breaking up, they were getting emotional, just in making the announcement that Carlie's body had been found.

MACOMBER: Absolutely. Sarasota is a very tight-knit community and they have been searching for this young girl and hoping that the outcome would be very different than what it is.

So, yes, everyone is reacting to what's happened. What we're hoping to do with Hospice of Southwest Florida -- we are going to be holding support groups the next three Tuesdays for the community, for both adults and children. We'll run them consecutively.

Just so people in the community know, it will be at Church of the Palms on Beridge Avenue (ph) from 6:30 to 8:00 on Tuesdays if we can help anyone. It's open to anyone. Children, adults, teens who feel like they would like extra support to get through.

KAGAN: I also understand there's also a prayer vigil planned for tonight.

MACOMBER: There is a prayer vigil planned. And I don't have all the details on that. I'm hoping to get them. But one of the churches is holding a vigil tonight. I believe it's a 5:30 -- but I'm not sure where.

KAGAN: All right, well I'm sure word will spread around Sarasota. As you said, a very tight-knit community. A very difficult day for Sarasota today.

Sandy, thank you for your insight this morning. We appreciate it.

MACOMBER: Thank you for the opportunity.

MACOMBER: Grief counselor Sandy Macomber joining us from Sarasota, Florida, the community of Carlie Brucia and the community where her body was found earlier today.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired February 6, 2004 - 11:08   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Sarasota is just south of the Tampa Bay area, but has managed to hold on to its own small town roots. Today, it is a community overcome with grief.
Sandy Macomber is a grief counselor in Sarasota. She is director of the children's program at Hospice of Southwest Florida.

Thank you for being with us on this emotional morning for your community.

SANDY MACOMBER, GRIEF COUNSELOR: Well, thank you for allowing us to be here. And yes, it is a very emotional time for our community. Everyone in it has been hoping and searching for Carlie for the past three days.

KAGAN: And I want to start with the kids. We were listening to the principal. He was on live, we were listening to a state in the last hour. And he talked about the support that is there, for the children. But these are kids that have been hanging on to hope for the last three days. How do you help children make that turn?

MACOMBER: Well, it's -- with anyone, it's just a very difficult time for them. And, yes, they have been holding on to the hope and they finally realized it's -- Carlie isn't going to come back.

And just to give them support, be with them, help them to go through the very sad time with the loss and death of their friend. They're young -- this isn't supposed to happen. It shows their vulnerability. They're not used to that.

The school system has a crisis team that works with them at this time. And later, when the shock kind of wears off and the reality sets in, they'll be -- we'll be there, Hospice of Southwest Florida will be there to be able to offer support to the students, to the teachers, and really to all of the community.

KAGAN: That's interesting when you talk about the timing, later. Everyone's very present in today, the terrible news coming early this morning. But this is something that will reverberate for some time to come.

MACOMBER: Absolutely. Right now, in the crisis and the shock of the situation, people are there. And there's kind of an initial reaction. But it's later on, in any grieving process, when it becomes a reality. And when -- there's not always a lot of support there afterwards and people forget this is something that goes on for a very long time. With these -- with the children, as they, you know, they get ready to move into the next class, and Carlie's not there, or something has happened, things that will bring her to mind, but the immediacy of the situation will be over. And that's when they're really going to need the support to help them get through this.

KAGAN: Yes, I think you can really appreciate the depth of the grief in Sarasota. Yet you have the kids, who you'd understanding being upset. And then as people were watching early this morning, when the police were making the announcement, they were breaking up, they were getting emotional, just in making the announcement that Carlie's body had been found.

MACOMBER: Absolutely. Sarasota is a very tight-knit community and they have been searching for this young girl and hoping that the outcome would be very different than what it is.

So, yes, everyone is reacting to what's happened. What we're hoping to do with Hospice of Southwest Florida -- we are going to be holding support groups the next three Tuesdays for the community, for both adults and children. We'll run them consecutively.

Just so people in the community know, it will be at Church of the Palms on Beridge Avenue (ph) from 6:30 to 8:00 on Tuesdays if we can help anyone. It's open to anyone. Children, adults, teens who feel like they would like extra support to get through.

KAGAN: I also understand there's also a prayer vigil planned for tonight.

MACOMBER: There is a prayer vigil planned. And I don't have all the details on that. I'm hoping to get them. But one of the churches is holding a vigil tonight. I believe it's a 5:30 -- but I'm not sure where.

KAGAN: All right, well I'm sure word will spread around Sarasota. As you said, a very tight-knit community. A very difficult day for Sarasota today.

Sandy, thank you for your insight this morning. We appreciate it.

MACOMBER: Thank you for the opportunity.

MACOMBER: Grief counselor Sandy Macomber joining us from Sarasota, Florida, the community of Carlie Brucia and the community where her body was found earlier today.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com