HAMPTON, Va. — Friday, dozens gathered at the Peninsula Islamic Community Center in Hampton for the final chapter in the more-than-three-week-long mystery of the disappearance of 16-year-old Marwa Barakzai.
News 3 was invited to cover the funeral. It was brief, but didn’t fail to honor the Newport News teen's life.
“We definitely offer condolences and support to the family. We pray on them and their soul. We try to think of ways to honor them in this world by doing charitable work," PICC Executive Secretary Omar Alkhadi said.
News 3 has covered Barakzai’s disappearance since a CODI Alert was issued for her March 21, two days after she was last seen getting off a school bus after school.
At the funeral, Barakzai’s family asked for privacy and did not want to talk.
“There is a finality now, that we did find her," said Alkhadi.
Watch: FBI helping Newport News police search for missing teen who walked away from school bus
A community search was organized to try to find Barakzai and police got help from the FBI.
Barakzai was found dead in a lake in Newport News April 6. How she got there and exactly how she died were still under investigation as of April 10, but at a news conference April 9 with Newport News's mayor and police chief to announce she had been found the chief said foul play was not suspected.
Watch: Community searches for missing 16-year-old Newport News teen Marwa Barakzai
“There’s still a toxicology report, like anything that was in her system. But that takes six to eight weeks to come back. So, there’s still some things that we’re looking at," the police chief said.
“We extend our deepest condolences to Marwa’s family, friends, classmates, and anyone who feels the weight of this tragedy," said the mayor.
“She was very active, especially during the holy month of Ramadan. So she will definitely be remembered, and it’s something I don’t think any of us will ever forget," Alkhadi said.
