Statement from Sophia's Father about the death of his daughter

Parker Family Statement:

This is a time of extreme sorrow and profound hardship for my entire family.  

It is impossible to express in words the loss we feel right now. Sophia was in life, and will always be in our hearts, a remarkably beautiful and brave little girl. She brought such light into this world and I feel truly blessed that I had the opportunity to spend even such a brief time with her.  I miss her terribly and the emptiness she leaves behind serves to remind me how precious and fragile life actually is. 

Given these tragic circumstances, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Search and Rescue Teams and Law Enforcement agents who worked so hard searching for our daughter Sophia. They deserve tremendous  respect and credit for helping us through this tragedy.

Finally, because this is an extremely difficult time for my whole family, especially for my wife Claudia, who has not only lost her child, but is now in custody, we ask and greatly appreciate your understanding that we need our privacy to grieve and work through this time.  

Thank you.