Candlelight Vigil To Honor Valley Boy Killed While Walking Home In Flood

SAN FERNANDO, CA —

A candlelight vigil was held Friday evening for a Sylmar teen who disappeared during a powerful rainstorm in mid-February and whose body was pulled from an island in the Los Angeles River eight days later.

Participants walked the path 14-year-old Elias Rodriguez is believed to have taken the day he disappeared. The procession began at Cesar Chavez Learning Academies and ended at the Pacoima Wash and Glenoaks Boulevard, where he is believed to have gone into the water.

Elias vanished on the afternoon of Feb. 17 after leaving Cesar Chavez Learning Academies in San Fernando, police said. His body was found in the Los Feliz area on Feb. 25. Coroner's officials said the boy drowned.

Elias' family has established a GoFundMe page to help raise money for funeral and other expenses. The page -- www.gofundme.com/in-honor-of-our-angel- elias-eli - had raised more than $30,000 as of Thursday.

"We the family of (Elias' mother) Pahola Mascorro would like to extend our gratitude to everyone that has been asking to donate for expenses," according to a statement posted on the page. "We felt after receiving confirmation, it would be appropriate to create this account. Please continue to keep our family prayer, as this has been very difficult on everyone."

City News Service