Calgary’s Municipal Plaza outside City Hall hosted a vigil for Parker, the 11-year-old boy who went missing in July and was confirmed dead last week.

The community vigil was set up to honour Parker’s life, and reflect on how Calgarians worked together throughout the search to try and bring him home.

• Watch the ceremony in the video above

Parker, a non-verbal, autistic boy, disappeared from his specialized day facility on July 16. Thousands of police officers, trained searchers and volunteers spent nearly two weeks looking for Parker, before police announced they had found his remains last week.

Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly, who represents the area where Parker lived, helped organize the vigil. He said the event was an opportunity to celebrate Parker’s life and grieve together as a community.

“There’s many children who go missing and end up being found like this, but what made this one different is that all of Calgary was asked to participate in the search for Parker,” said Kelly.

“With the way the search ended, [it] definitely provided the wrong type of closure. There’s a lot of people hurting.”

Kelly noted that while there have been a few smaller vigils around Calgary, holding the event in Municipal Plaza allowed for a large crowd to gather together.

“I think this will be a real opportunity for a large number of Calgarians to come together in a moment of community healing,” said Kelly before the event.