GARY | Jada Justice's father joined supporters Thursday night at the Gary gas station that had been at the center of the search for his 2-year-old daughter.

Clarence Justice attended the gathering with his pastor and remembered his daughter as he fought back tears.

"I will remember her hugs and kisses and the way she used to say my name, CJ," Justice said. "My daughter is in a better place. She is in God's hands."

Among those who gathered throughout the day to remember Jada and pray for her parents was Cassandra Warmack, who carefully arranged stuffed animals and a pink silk rose on top of a concrete block in tribute to the toddler.

MORE: Click here for more reports on the Jada Justice case.

Warmack, a friend of Jada's parents, said she had just learned that a body assumed to be that of the young girl was found earlier that day.

"I wish I could tell her parents that I'm sorry," Warmack said. "I wish we could have found her alive."

Warmack was creating a memorial on a concrete block just outside the Glen Park Gas station, at Ridge Road and Louisiana Street.

Police were called there June 16 after Jada was reported missing by 18-year-old Engelica Castillo, who had been baby-sitting the toddler in her Hobart home. Castillo told police she had gone into the gas station to buy milk and cigarettes and came outside to find Jada missing from her vehicle.

Now sources close to the investigation say Castillo and her boyfriend have been taken into custody in what has become a homicide investigation.

Other friends of Jada's parents came out to support each other Thursday as many clung to each other and cried. Among the cars parked at the gas station, several still posted fliers about Jada's disappearance, despite the earlier announcement that authorities believe they had found the girl's body in rural LaPorte County.

Pat Sullivan, a friend of Jada's father, began helping as soon as he heard Jada was missing by posting fliers throughout several surrounding communities. One volunteer estimated that hundreds of people came out to help the family in its search for Jada.

"I have a 2-year-old and a 2-month-old. If it was me, I'd want the same treatment," Sullivan said.

Angie Balboa, a friend of Jada's mother, Melissa Swiontek, said she felt lost but was relieved to finally have some closure.

"It's going to take time for the sadness to go away, but Jada will always be in our hearts," Balboa said.

Clarence Justice's wife, Elizabeth Justice, said the family is planning a prayer service for Saturday at the gas station.

Times photographer Jessica A. Woolf contributed to this report.

Watch footage from Thursday's news conference

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