UPDATE: Police have confirmed that two Clayton teenage boys, ages 15 and 17, have been arrested and charged with the strangling death of Autumn Pasquale.
The disappearance of 12 year old Autumn Pasquale has been all over the news this week. I was heart-broken to find out this morning that a body found in a recycling container in her hometown of Clayton, has been confirmed to be Autumn's. Pasquale was last seen riding her BMX bike away from her Clayton home on Saturday afternoon, and the rest remains a mystery, as detectives begin their investigation hoping to uncover the horrific details behind Pasquale's death.
A quick search on Facebook brought me to Autumn Pasquale's profile page where dozens of concerned citizens were sending prayers her way, hopeful that she'd make it back home to her family. This was quickly followed by R.I.P messages as the news of her body being discovered broke late last night.
I scanned her page and was surprised to see a check-in from 2011, titled "In My Bed". How horrifying would it be if this is how her killer found out where she lived. Autumn has 600+ friends on Facebook. Her subscriber count is well over 1,000. This means that 1,600+ people got notified of that check-in of little Autumn laying in her bed. And strangers, like myself, had access to her check-in simply by visiting Autumn Pasquale's Facebook page.
Who knows if this check-in, which displays Autumn Pasquale's supposed street address, has anything to do with her tragic death. But we live in a scary world. Parents need to be concerned about what their children are posting online! Children, teens and grown-up's alike need to be cautious about the information they are putting out there on social networking sites for the entire world to see.
My prayers go out to Autumn Pasquale, her family, friends and all those close to her.
Words of caution to the world: Be careful what you post online!!!