CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Terri Thompson created the memorial that lines Ennis Joslin Road, near The Cottages at Corpus Christi, so that Caleb Harris could forever be etched in the hearts of all who knew him.
"He was, as Nancy Grace said, scrubbed in sunshine," she said.
Tuesday marks what would have been the former Islander's 22nd birthday.
Harris died earlier this year, and shortly after his remains were identified by authorities, the makeshift memorial began growing along Ennis Joslin Road.
The railing near the complex where he was last seen alive is brightly decorated with flowers and other memorabilia friends and residents associate with the New Braunfels native: a souvenir nameplate with "Caleb," on its and a picture of him, among other items.
Thompson said she didn't know Harris, but was affected by his death, and that many people from near and far also have paid their respects at the memorial.
"People from other states have sent things that they have asked me to hang up here as well," she said. "Sent flowers and so forth."
Thompson said the memorial helps to keep Harris' legacy alive in a different way, in hopes that people never forget what happened and continue to ask the tough questions.
"I hope that we get answers and that we find justice for Caleb and for his family," she said.
Thompson was also present at the remembrance ceremony at TAMU-CC that served to pay tribute to Harris' memory.
University president Kelly Miller said that she sends her heartfelt sympathies to the Harris family.
"As a mother of a 21-year-old myself, my prayers were immediately with Caleb," she said. "But they were also much with his parents, whose pain I could not begin to imagine."