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Candlelight vigil planned in Surrey for two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette

Surrey's Holland Park will play host to the event in honour of the toddler who was found dead in Alberta after an Amber Alert.
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A local father is planning an event in Surrey in honour of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette. She was found dead in Alberta after an Amber Alert. Her father

SURREY — A father is organizing a candlelight vigil in Surrey this Saturday for the two-year-old girl found dead after an Amber Alert in Alberta.

"Not just doing this for Hailey and her family and all those that need to be remembered," writes organizer Dan Wickstrom on Facebook. "I'm also doing it for my baby boy, 9 months, and everyone's children no matter what the age."

He continues, "It is my hope to bring everyone together in a show of solidarity to bring an end to child violence."

The vigil is set for Saturday, Sept. 26 at Holland Park at 6 p.m.

Click here to visit the event's Facebook page for links to charities the family is raising money for.

An Amber Alert was activated on Sept. 14 after Hailey was believed to be abducted, according to RCMP.

Later that day, police were called to a home in Blairmore by a family member who found a dead man in the home. He was identified as Hailey's father, Terry Blanchette.

Police found her body on Sept. 15 in a rural area in Alberta.

The man accused in her death, 22-year-old Derek James Saretzky, is reportedly a friend of the child's mother.

Saretzky has been charged with first-degree murder in the two deaths. He also faces one count of indignity to a body in relation to Hailey's death.

amy.reid@thenownewspaper.com