Rowan Ford is Dead, Charges are Filed

Rowan Ford, dead at 9 years old

Please keep Rowan Ford's family in your thoughts and prayers.

As many people in the Ozarks already know, she was a 9-year-old girl who was raped and murdered by her stepfather and his friend last Saturday.

This is the most horrible crime against a child I can imagine.

It terrifies me to think that there are people out there who could carry out such a brutal act.

Even though it's nothing compared to those who knew and loved Rowan,

I have to say that it's pretty disturbing to cover...

I did not have to go out to any of the crime scenes, but it is pretty difficult and disturbing to read the things that allegedly happened to her...

It has been weighing heavily on my mind.

At the same time, it's exhausting.

We've all been working endless hours trying to get the latest information on the case, and work through our station's challenges. Believe it or not, KSPR was the first to go online with the arrest Friday night and we cut in on air earlier than anyone else. We were also the first to put the charges online... I know this because I did it from home Saturday morning, and I looked... (Thanks to Randy at The Turner Report for appearing to notice...I couldn't upload the PC statement, so I typed it out.)

However, being a new station has its challenges of growing an audience, and I understand that people have their own viewing habits.

Plus, I can truly say that there was some outstanding coverage by several media outlets.

Anyway, that's not the point.

I'm just saying this because it's horrible to cover, and at the same time we have a job to do that requires us to de-sensitize ourselves and work to be as fast and indepth as possible.

My personal thought is that news organizations should be required to bring in counselors for their staff when things like this happen. Law enforcement agencies do it for their officers because they see so much. Journalists are in many ways in the thick of it, too.

Anway, please do not forget Rowan.

She trusted someone, and he violated it in the worst way.

Her story cannot be something that's covered one week and forgotten the next.

And remember these men:

Christopher Collings (DOB: 02-04-1975)

David Spears (DOB: 11-04-1982)

Remember that they admitted to the crimes...

If they are telling the truth, remember these men in hopes that Rowan and her family will get justice. Right now they face first degree murder charges, forcible rape, and first degree statutory rape charges.

Authorities are also looking for other people of interest--basically David's friends.

Rowan's funeral will be on Wednesday in Neosho.