BLANCHESTER, Ohio - Family and friends of Carrie Culberson are invited to a memorial service Aug. 28, the one-year anniversary of the 22-year-old woman's disappearance.
Ms. Culberson's former boyfriend, Vincent Doan, was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering her in the early-morning hours of Aug. 29. Neither Ms. Culberson nor her 1989 red Honda CRX has been seen since.
Debra Culberson, Carrie's mother, said she didn't want to hold off on a memorial until her daughter's remains are found.
''I couldn't let this date come and pass without doing something for her. There is a possibility we won't find Carrie,'' Mrs. Culberson said Tuesday.
The service will begin at 7 p.m. in the gymnasium of Ms. Culberson's alma mater, Blanchester High School, 3482 Ohio 28.
Friends and family members will deliver eulogies. All who attend will be encouraged to write down their favorite memory of Ms. Culberson and put it into a basket. Selected stories will be read during the service.
In addition, mourners will have an opportunity to see a bronze plaque that includes a picture of an angel and Ms. Culberson's name on it. The plaque will be displayed in a Blanchester roadside park.
The service will close outside the high school, where 365 balloons, with special messages honoring Ms. Culberson, will be released in memory of each day she has been gone.
A memorial fund is going to be set up at Blanchester First National Bank. Proceeds will go to the Blanchester Garden Club, for the perpetual care of the monument, and to a yet-to-be-announced agency that counsels victims of domestic violence.
Anyone with questions can call Mrs. Culberson at (937) 783-3913.
