THE FAMILY of missing teenager Libbi Toledo have confirmed her death – and set up a fundraising page to help with funeral costs.
Libbi went missing in the Smeaton area of Kirkcaldy, Fife on Monday 11 September.
A body – now confirmed by the family as that of the 17-year-old – was found eleven days later at disused scrapyard near to where she was last spotted.
Today (tue) Libbi’s heartbroken father Joe Toledo, who lives in the states, shared a Go Fund Me page set up to help him travel back to Scotland to attend his daughter’s funeral.
He also shared a poignant photograph of himself with Libbi when she was a baby showing her smiling as she sat on her father’s shoulders.
The fundraising page, titled Help Bury Elisabeth, was set up by Libbi’s aunt, Vicki Edwards and is hoping to raise $20,000 or £15,000 to fund the trip and also help with funeral costs.
Sharing the page today (TUE), Joe wrote: “A GoFundMe account has been set up to help me and family to go to Scotland to be with my family there and also to enable me to give my daughter a proper funeral.
“We truly appreciate all everyone has done for us in this period of turmoil. Thank you in advance for all your help.
Writing on the Go Fund Me page, Vicki said: “The family of Libbi (Elisabeth) Toledo are devastated with the news that after eleven days of hoping and searching for Libbi the outcome is not what we had been believing in.
“There are no words to express the loss we feel. We watch as the world is still moving and participating in the normal day to day things, but yet we are stuck standing still in the enormity of our loss.
“Libbi was a beautiful, sweet, funny, and loving young woman.
“We would like to honor her by giving her a proper burial.
“Please, if you feel led, help us come together to be able to send her dad and family to Scotland to be able to pay their proper respects, as well as allow her dad to be there to help his son and her mum grieve. “
Vicki added: “We have seen the messages of support and prayers for the family that have filled our Facebook pages. They are greatly appreciated.
“They all show a love for Libbi as a friend, confidant, sister, daughter, niece, granddaughter, and cousin.
“She has greatly impacted people’s lives here on earth and will continue to do so in her passing.
“We thank you in advance for any support you might give. Continue to pray for us as we go through the grieving process and carry on without the bright light Libbi brought to our lives.”
Police Scotland discovered Libbi’s body at a disused scrapyard at the junction of Kirkcaldy’s Denburn Road and Smeaton Road at about 2.20pm last Thursday.
She was found less than a mile away from Veronica Crescent in the Smeaton area of the Fife town, where she was last seen on 11 September.
The discovery prompted the last-minute cancellation of a scheduled press conference featuring Libbi’s mother, Judith.
Police Scotland said the death was being treated as unexplained pending further inquiries and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.
Police Scotland said they were not departing from their original statement in which they confirmed that “a body has sadly been found during the search for missing teenager, Libbi Toledo, in Kirkcaldy” and that “formal identification is yet to take place”.
