INDIANAPOLIS — Community members gathered to honor a young life Friday evening during a candlelight vigil for 8-year-old Miracle Bryan outside her former east Indianapolis home.

Her mother was arrested for the girl’s death.

Flowers, stuffed animals, candles and a banner made by classmates form a memorial where the girl lived on South Bancroft Street. Miracle was found dead Wednesday, and people who knew her say they want to ensure her spirit is not forgotten.

At the vigil, neighbors and friends lit candles and released balloons. Her brother, Maliki Mitchell, described his sister as an energetic and loving entertainer who often gave “words of wisdom” to adults.

“She was just energetic, fun, loving, caring,” Mitchell said. “You’d be a grown man or a grown woman, and she’d be able to give you some type of words of wisdom or advice. She was always jumping off the wall. She was very athletic, a great child, loved to sing. She was a big entertainer, just loved everybody. Whoever came through, you showed her some love, she’s gonna show you some love back, for sure. And even if you didn’t, she might still show you some love.”

Mitchell encouraged anyone to leave items at the home’s memorial, even if they did not know Miracle. He said he raised the girl himself — brushing her hair and holding her when she cried — and that losing a sibling feels like losing a part of himself.

“Honestly, the goal is to keep her alive as long as possible,” he said. “When you have a sibling, you come in the world together. To lose your sibling, it’s like losing a part of you. I raised that little girl. I brushed her hair. I gave her baths. I changed her diaper. I held her when she cried. Anytime she was sick, I was there. To see something like this happen and so sudden, I didn’t even get to say bye to her. It hurts more than you can imagine.”

What police learned

The gathering happened just days after Indianapolis police arrested the girl’s mother, 43-year-old Karrie Bryan. Officers arrived at the home, located southwest of Emerson Avenue and Brookville Road, at 7 a.m. Wednesday and found the child unconscious and not breathing. Emergency medical personnel determined she had died at 7:07 a.m. Wednesday.

While police initially arrested Karrie Bryan on a charge of neglect of a dependent, court documents filed Thursday show she now faces charges of possession of methamphetamine, dealing, neglect of a dependent, and obstruction of justice. No formal charged had been filed by Friday, online records show.

According to court documents outlining the police investigation, Detective Joshua Taylor of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department interviewed the mother, who said she found her daughter at the end of the bed. Bryan told the detective she saw the child holding a can of dry shampoo and wondered if she had taken something.

Investigators reported finding a container with two glass vials of methamphetamine under a pillow in the bedroom. Bryan eventually told Taylor she moved the drugs to the room and placed them under the pillow before police arrived because she was afraid of her past legal history. She also admitted to using the drug the day before for “energy.”

The Marion County Coroner’s Office has not yet released the cause or manner of death.

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