Ebby’s family, friends say goodbye

Before Ebby Steppach’s memorial service, her mother was browsing through the teen’s old notebooks and found one entry that said “goals.”

She read on and saw that her daughter had written that she wanted to leave the world better than she found it.

“I want people to know about my story even after I die.”

Ebby’s friend Danielle Westbrook recounted the story Saturday afternoon and said that was one goal that Ebby achieved.

Authorities identified remains found in Little Rock’s Chalamont Park as Ebby’s on Wednesday. They found the remains Tuesday in a drainage pipe in the park where her car was found a few days after she vanished in October 2015.

The Little Rock Police Department is investigating the case as a homicide, pending autopsy results.

Since her disappearance, Ebby’s story has been broadcast on national platforms such on The Vanished Podcast and the Dr. Phil talk show. A Facebook group dedicated to finding her has more than 19,000 members, and at her funeral, many of the speakers referred to the attention that her case put on police procedures in missing persons cases and human trafficking.

Before her funeral, the family requested that instead of sending flowers, people who wanted to show support send donations to Halos Investigations Inc., Partners Against Human Trafficking or Thorn. All of these nonprofits work to stop human trafficking.

Until her remains were found, her family thought Ebby may have been sold.

About 4.5 million people around the world are being forced to work as sex slaves, according to the International Labour Organization, a nonprofit that promotes favorable working conditions around the world.

“Ebby has a very big, caring heart,” said Michael Jernigan, Ebby’s stepfather. “We want the events that we’ve gone through and the way her life has ended and everything that we’ve gone through since then to impact others.”

At least twice since 18-year-old Ebby’s disappearance, police have rescued other girls from sex slavery because they were following up on possible tips about Ebby.

“We believe that there’s a lot of resources and effort going into solving Ebby’s case and determining what’s happened to her,” Jernigan said. “I believe that they’re going to come to a conclusion of what happened and who caused her death.”

But there was little mention of how she died during Saturday’s service, other than the closing prayer in which the pastor asked God for justice for Ebby.

Family members and friends told stories about the Central High School senior’s life — how she talked a friend into helping her re-pierce her nose at youth group one night; a weekend on the lake with her nephew; and how her younger sister fooled her into going on a roller coaster that went upside down so they could do it together.

When she graduated, Ebby wanted to go to cosmetology school and later get her real estate license.

Photos that flashed on a screen during the service showed her growing from a toddler sitting next to a scarecrow with a jack-o’-lantern for a head to a young girl sitting in a tree branch, clapping, and finally to a teenager, hands gripping the wheel of her 2003 Volkswagen Passat.

The car was found in Chalamont Park a few days after her disappearance with the keys in the ignition, the battery dead and the gas tank empty. Her phone and wallet were in the front seat.

Beach scenes provided the backdrop in a few photos, reminiscent of one of Ebby’s favorite places. As a child, she used to spend hours pacing in the sand looking for seashells, her mother Laurie Jernigan said in a previous interview. She gave many of them as gifts to her grandparents.

Laurie Jernigan sobbed softly as she went in for the funeral — where most of the crowd was nearly silent for at least 10 minutes before the family walked in. Her husband, Michael Jernigan, kept his hand on her shoulders for support.

He told reporters afterward that he thought finding Ebby’s body might bring the family some closure after 2½ years of not knowing whether she was dead or alive.