Family and friends shed light on past tragedy

It has been a year since the death of 18-year-old Peyton Strickland, and for family and friends, a year hasn’t been enough time to heal.

Nick Kane went to high school with Strickland, and he says it’s been a long year ever since he lost his friend. “It’s very sad you know, not an hour goes by that you don’t think about him, probably sometimes minutes, definitely not a day.”

To make sure his memory lives on, those who were close to Strickland gathered for a candlelight vigil on the Cape Fear Community College campus Saturday night, where he was a student. Strickland’s Aunt, Amy Read says the vigil is a time to remember who Peyton was, not the way he died. “He was always on the go, and he was just a great kid.”

Peyton was tragically shot and killed in December 2006 after Sheriff’s Deputies attempted to serve an arrest warrant for his alleged involvement in a robbery. The Deputy who shot him, Chris Long was later cleared of manslaughter charges by a grand jury, but many feel justice has not been served.

Amy Read says she will never have closure after losing her nephew. She can only look for continued support from loved ones. “Knowing that the year that I just lived I didn’t live it alone, all these people lived it with similar feelings, and reactions, and incidences, as I’ve had.”

With only memories to share and candles to burn, friends and family will continue to search for peace and remember the one they loved.