‘Heartbreaking’: Community releases balloons at vigil in honor of Olivia Ann Jansen
More than 100 people, including family and friends, gathered at the corner of Steele Road and South 34th Street in Kansas City, Kansas, on Saturday evening for a vigil honoring a 3-year-old girl whose body police believe was found Friday.
Olivia Ann Jansen was reported missing by her father on Friday morning. Police found a child’s body they believe to be Olivia’s in a wooded area in the 3400 block of Steele Road about 5:30 p.m. Friday. Later that night, her father was arrested.
Attendees stacked dozens of candles on the parking lot curb on Saturday. On the grass below, people left dozens of stuffed animals.
People wrote messages on a neon pink sign that read “Rest well Olivia,” in front of the candles.
“Fly high baby girl,” one person wrote. Another person wrote, “Rest easy baby girl you’ll always be loved and remembered.”
The sign was decorated with butterflies.
Below the sign, two balloons with the Disney character Elsa from the movie Frozen were placed on either side of balloons that said, “Believe.”
About an hour into the gathering, the crowd released balloons. Some said “I love you,” and others featured Disney princesses.
Taylor Mullins, a family friend, attended Saturday’s vigil.
“She was the happiest baby,” Mullins said. “She was so full of love like, just her smile, her bright blue eyes, everything about her just lit up the room.”
Mullins said that it was impossible to have a bad day around Olivia.
“To know that her dad, the man that brought her into this world, that created what we’re talking about why we’re all here right now is the one that took her out of this world is very devastating,” Mullins said. “It’s indescribable.”
Amanda Webb, who joined in the search on Friday, said she hopes Olivia’s mother, who is currently in prison, is flooded with mail. She said Olivia’s mother should be given time to bury her daughter.
“Because you know what, she didn’t ask for this,” Webb said. “And if she was here, we wouldn’t be going through this. Because she loved that little girl with absolutely everything she had in her.”
Webb said people need to be sure to check on their loved ones and to listen to their children.
“Listen to your babies,” Webb said. “In some way, I’m sure she was crying out and reaching out and no one heard her. ... Listen to your gut. If you think something, check on it.”
Webb said she had a feeling from the start that something wasn’t right with the father’s story.
Webb said it’s “heartbreaking” that Olivia’s family won’t get the chance to raise her.
“She was a baby,” Webb said. “She didn’t even know life.”
Webb said the turnout at other vigils and balloon releases she has gone to have never looked like Saturday’s.
Rosemary Myers, who lives in the neighborhood, brought 10 candles to the vigil.
Myers said she remembers, from when she was a child, the search for Precious Doe, a 3-year-old who was killed and beheaded in 2001 and identified four years later.
“So when this happened in the neighborhood I live in, it kind of hit close to home because (I) had a flashback memory of what I did when I was a child,” Myers said. “Just love your kids, hold them tight.”
She said it was amazing to see the community come together.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Howard Jansen III, the girl’s father, reported Olivia missing from a residence in the 4400 block of Gibbs Road in Kansas City, Kansas, at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
He allegedly told police he woke up at 6:30 a.m. and discovered that she was gone. The back door was open. Police said Jansen said he had last seen his daughter around 11 p.m. Thursday.
An Amber Alert was issued on Friday. Neighbors and other people in the community passed out more than 2,000 flyers during the search for Olivia.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations also assisted in the search for Olivia on Friday afternoon.
A body that police believed to be Olivia’s was found around 5:30 p.m. Friday in a wooded area in the 3400 block of Steele Road.
Howard Jansen III, 29, has not been formally charged in Olivia’s death. He was booked late Friday, and is being held without bond, according to online court records.
Jacqulyn Kirkpatrick, 33, was booked into the Wyandotte County jail the next day, according to online jail records.
Both are being held without bond and, as of Saturday night, had not been formally charged in the death of Olivia, according to online court records.
Authorities have not said how the child died or released any other details.
The case is under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Division. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Kansas City, Kansas, police at 913-596-3000 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
This story was originally published July 11, 2020 at 9:52 PM.
