HANNAH MARIE TODD - 9 yo - Tulsa OK

A 9-year-old girl was found dead Friday afternoon in a west Tulsa park.

Authorities were called about 1 p.m. to T.A. Penney Park, 531 S. 49th
West Ave., where Hannah Marie Todd was found buried under the sand in a
playground area, according to Tulsa Police Officer Leland Ashley.
"We don't know if this was foul play or a tragic accident," Ashley said.
There were no obvious signs of trauma to the girl's body and she was fully clothed, he said.
Funeral services are pending the completion of an autopsy.
Tulsa Public Schools confirmed that Hannah Todd was a student at Mark
Twain Elementary School, 541 S. 43rd West Ave., a year-round school that
is currently on break. Counselors will be on hand as students return to
school on Monday.
Hannah lived in the neighborhood. Her mother and other family members
huddled together at the edge of the park that was cordoned off with
crime tape.
"Please tell me it's not her," the girl's mother, Angela Todd, sobbed in the arms of her sister. "Not her. Not her."
Ashley said Hannah's body was discovered by other children who were playing in the sand.
"Somehow they came across an arm or a hand, and that's when they notified authorities," he said.



Police were told a shovel was usually around the sand box area and children were often seen playing at burying one another.
The girl was last seen by her family about 8 a.m. and had not been
reported missing. Witnesses told police that she was seen playing with
other children in the park about 11 a.m., Ashley said.
Hannah's grandmother, Sue Todd, said by phone Friday evening that Hannah's death is devastating.
"One of the little girls went home and told my daughter and son that
Hannah was dead. They got to the park before police got there. I think
my daughter has pretty much fallen to pieces," she said.
Todd said her granddaughter was a very pretty little girl who was very
helpful and caring. She was a "little artist" with a flair for sculpting
and loved to play with other kids at the park.
"She liked being outside," Sue Todd said. "She didn't have a computer.
She wasn't a kid that kept her head in a computer, and she didn't watch
all that much television."
Although police haven't ruled out foul play, family members believe her death was an accident.
"I really believe the children were playing in the park like they always do," her grandmother said.
But Todd said she was troubled to find out on Friday that the children
had been digging a hole in the sand play area for a month and that it
had gotten rather large. She said the hole was so deep you couldn't see
Hannah when she got inside.
The family believes that Hannah may have gotten into the hole and tried to tunnel, causing it to cave in.
Mark Twain PTA President Liz Kaiser was watching as authorities
investigated the girl's death. She said she hoped it would turn out to
be a tragic accident and that foul play was not involved.
"It's a sad, sad thing," Kaiser said.
Police want to speak with anyone who may have seen Hannah playing in the
park or who might have information about her death. Call CrimeStoppers at 918-596-COPS.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/specialprojects/news/crimewatch/article.aspx?subjectid=450&articleid=20111112_11_A19_CUTLIN859159

Hundreds gather for funeral of girl who died in Tulsa park

Friends and family plan to petition the city to rename the park in her honor



Courtesy: Facebook





Little girl killed in west Tulsa sandbox


By Nicole Burgin, Russell Mills

TULSA, Okla. —
Hundreds
of people packed a west Tulsa church Tuesday for the funeral of a
nine-year-old girl who died tragically last week in a city park.
Hannah Marie Todd suffocated while digging in the sand underneath a piece of playground equipment.
The tunnel, which witnesses say several children had been working on for days, collapsed on Hannah.
Ron Hazelwood is a friend of Sue Todd, Hannah's grandmother.
Hazelwood told KRMG Tuesday that he wants the city to remove sand pits from the city's parks.
"What's more important than protecting our babies?" he asked.
KRMG
contacted the city about the issue of the sand pits and we were told
the city has begun removing them, but that the process is expensive and
will take some time. Read related story here.
Hazelwood and family friend Patrick Aaron also hope to find another way to honor Hannah's memory.
They plan to petition the city to rename Penney Park as "Hannah Memorial Park."
Meanwhile,
the family, still reeling from the near-death of one of Hannah's
sisters just a few months ago, the result of a traffic accident, is
taking what comfort it can from the outpouring of grief and support from
the community.
The Opportunity Baptist Church had made room for
200 people to attend Tuesday's funeral, but the crowd overflowed the
church sanctuary and an adjacent room, with others standing outside.
Tears flowed freely as the strains of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing" opened the service.
Hazelwood
and Aaron say renaming the park would help the community, as well as
the family, heal from the tragic loss of a promising young life.
http://m.krmg.com/news/news/local/hundreds-gather-funeral-girl-who-died-tulsa-park/nFfBB/