Lyon County, Iowa — Students and family in Lyon County are dealing with the loss of a 9-year-old girl early on Sunday morning. A fire in George claimed the life of a girl who was in third grade at Central Lyon Elementary in Rock Rapids.
Pastor Jeff Poppinga from Faith Baptist Church in Rock Rapids (pictured above) says that he knew 9-year-old Riley Meyer quite well, as she attended the church’s AWANA program on Wednesday nights.
Poppinga says he’s been one of those who is helping Central Lyon students touched by the tragedy.
He says the kids are slowly coming to terms with the loss.
He says Meyer’s siblings also attend AWANA.
He says that program will also help the students deal with their grief this week.
He says if people want to help the family who lost not only their daughter but also all their possessions in the fire, he suggests two ideas.
We did speak to Ron Humphrey with the Iowa State Fire Marshall Division to see if there was any new information available about the fire or the circumstances surrounding it. He says it’s still an open investigation at this point, and that they’re still waiting on the autopsy. He says the results of that are hoped to be released on Wednesday, and there may be more information available after that.
