A Springfield, Missouri girl who was kidnapped and murdered Tuesday afternoon, allegedly by a middle school football coach, has ties to southwest Iowa. The Red Oak Express reports 10-year old Hailey Owens is the daughter of Markus and Stacey Owens, of Springfield, MO., and granddaughter of Mark Scanlan, of Red Oak. Hailey’s great-grandmother, Connie Sparr, also lives in Red Oak.

Photo from the Porch lights for Hailey Owens Facebook page.

The 4th grader was abducted as she was walking home from a friend’s house less than two-blocks away. Her body was found four-hours later inside Craig Woods’ basement. Woods has been charged with 1st degree murder, kidnapping and armed criminal action. He plead not guilty to the charges this (Friday) morning. Woods was being held without bond in the Greene County, MO, jail. Authorities have said there is no known connection between the girl and Wood.

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 Hailey.

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,” which encourages people to  to leave their porch light on overnight until Sunday. Another site, “Wear Pink/Purple Friday in Honor of Hailey Owens” encourages people to dress in Hailey’s favorite colors for the day, on Friday.