Alicia DeBolt Update: Thousands Attend Candlelight Vigil for Slain Teen

GREAT BEND, Kan. (CBS/KWCH) Approximately 2,000 people came out for a candlelight vigil Sunday in honor of Alicia DeBolt, the 14-year-old Kansas teen whose charred remains were found at an asphalt plant last week.

PICTURES: Alicia DeBolt: A Life Cut Short

Mourners wore flip-flops, DeBolt's shoe of choice, and wrapped blue ribbons in their hair in remembrance of the bubbly, outgoing teen they called "Babygurl."

Investigators found DeBolt's severely burned body, which could only be identified from dental records, on Tuesday at an asphalt plant in central Kansas. Her family had reported her missing after she left for a party around 11:00 p.m. Aug. 21 and never returned home.

"She didn't deserve to die the way she did," said 15-year-old friend Erica Schwager.

Officials identified 36-year-old Adam Longoria, as a person of interest in the murder investigation, according to CBS affiliate KWCH. Longoria has not been charged or named a suspect in the case, but investigators did search his home last Thursday.

He is scheduled to appear in court Monday on theft and vehicular burglary charges in connection with a 2002 white Ford Explorer that was reported stolen from Venture Corporation, the asphalt plant where DeBolt's body was found, reports KWCH. A statewide alert was put out for Longoria Friday before police apprehended him in the Ford Explorer.

PICTURES: Alicia DeBolt: A Life Cut Short

Vickie Crawford, 16, who lived with DeBolt last year, said she didn't know Longoria and didn't think her good friend would spend time with someone that old.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice says Longoria has done time on nine charges there since 1991. Those include burglary, forgery, credit card abuse, escape from prison and evading arrest. He was released May 25 after completing a seven-year sentence for aggravated robbery.

He is being held in Barton County, Kansas, and it is unknown whether he has an attorney.

DeBolt's death has rattled the Great Bend community, a city with a population of about 15,600.

She was expected to begin her freshman year at Great Bend High School Monday. Family members say DeBolt was eagerly looking forward to being a cheerleader.

Complete Coverage of Alicia DeBolt on Crimesider.