Missing Michigan Boys Update: Hundreds Attend Candlelight Vigil

MORENCI, Mich. (CBS/AP) Hundreds of people gathered at a park in a small southern Michigan community for a candlelight vigil in honor of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton, the three missing boys last seen at their father's home on Thanksgiving.

PICTURES: Missing Children, Where are They?

Rev. Donna Galloway of the Morenci United Methodist Church said the event was held to keep hope alive, The Detroit Free Press reported.

"As we light these lights tonight, be assured that the boys see the light," the pastor said at the vigil.

It is a theme being repeated throughout Morenci, where the fate of 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner has gripped those living in and around the community of about 2,000 residents 75 miles southwest of Detroit.

Their father, John Skelton, faces three kidnapping charges, and Morenci police Chief Larry Weeks has said Skelton hasn't said much about where the boys might be.

Weeks has cautioned the public that police do not expect "a positive outcome," but Weeks also told reporters he simply refuses to believe at this point that the children were killed.

Hundreds of police, fire officials and volunteers have been searching the past week in southern Michigan and northern Ohio. Officials in Morenci say no organized search was planned over the weekend.

Skelton remains in a Toledo, Ohio, jail on a $3 million bond after he declined Wednesday to waive extradition to Michigan on parental kidnapping charges.

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE MISSING MICHIGAN BOYS ON CRIMESIDER