Julia Sims: A death in the family

On Saturday, I looked at my little boy and wondered “why in the world would anyone ever hurt a precious child?”

Let’s face it, there is no answer, or at least no answer that makes any kind of sense.

We only knew three-year-old Mariah Woods through pictures shared in the media: the sweet wisp of a girl wearing a pink tiara and holding her doll baby. Somehow, I suspect, many of us felt like we knew the little girl. After a massive search, authorities found Mariah's body on Saturday in a creek in Pender County. Her mother's boyfriend was charged with concealing the child's death.

According to the National Children’s Alliance, at least 1,670 U.S. children died as the result of abuse in 2015. Think about it. That’s four to five children, just like Mariah, who die every day - usually at the hands of someone they know and trust. 

I wish I knew how to stop this. I wish someone knew how to end child abuse. Do we need more resources for families, more education? Do we need to be better neighbors, better watchdogs for kids in our community? Again, I wish I knew.

I do know this: Every child is a precious gift. The hundreds of volunteers who searched for Mariah were keenly aware of that. One woman said: “I feel like that’s my family too.”

And when there’s a death in the family, we all feel the loss.