Hearts have sunk for the four innocent men who were robbed of their lives the moment they all went missing in Bucks County - Dean Finocchiaro, Tom Meo, Jimi Patrick and Mark Sturgis.
Social media was flooded with cries for help in locating these men; as no one was able to describe how a being can simply vanish.
As the news progresses with more updates, we learn how they have now vanished from the lives they have influenced.
But even though they are no longer a part of this life, they are still a part of our lives.
These innocent men will forever be engraved in our memories for those who had the pleasure of knowing them.
For the Loyola students, I know we can all agree how Jimi Patrick (19) will never be erased from our freshman year together.
We may have only had one year with him, but it was one that we could not trade for anything else. The rest of the years without him will not be easy ones, but I have faith in our community that we will keep his spirit alive by never forgetting.
And in the end, that is all that can be done.
We lost a friend.
Some lost a brother.
Others lost an inspiration.
We – family and friends – now have the responsibility of never forgetting what their smiles looked like or how they would laugh at a joke.
We have the responsibility of never taking another friend and/or loved one for granted.
We had the honor of knowing the innocent men who will survive forever.