'Find Terry' Fund Will Be Used to Finance a Mural at Market

A mural honoring Terry Smith Jr. will be displayed at the Menifee Market.

The Find Terry Smith rescue team, a volunteer group that collected funds through a Wells Fargo Bank account during the search for the Menifee 11-year-old, announced its intention today to use the money in funding the creation of a mural honoring Terry at Menifee Market on Scott Road.

Sarah Reid, one of the group's organizers, said group members felt this was the most appropriate use of the money. The fund, originally opened to accept donations for supplies for volunteer searchers, remains open at Wells Fargo but will now be dedicated for use in creating the mural. The group's Facebook page will not respond to comments over the weekend and will be renamed "Remembering Terry Smith" next week.

The project is very early in the planning process and no details about the size or exact location of the mural at the store are known.

"We will be having a mural painted in Terry’s honor at the Menifee Market, a location where an entire community came together, united by our love, for one very special little boy," Reid wrote on the group's Facebook page today.

Reid told Menifee 24/7 the group plans to "select a local artist willing to donate their time and talent in painting the mural. The fund will be used for the materials."

Reid emphasized that the group is not involved in making any donations to a funeral or memorial service for Terry, whose body was found Wednesday morning buried in the back yard of his home. His half brother, 16-year-old Skylor Atilano, is being charged with murder.