Memorials pay tribute to teens; candlelight vigil set to honor one who drowned

Horry County is reeling with loss after the recent tragic and untimely deaths of area youths, two of whom were Socastee High School students.

A makeshift sign recently went up across a fence in front of Socastee High School in tribute to those two students with a message that read R.I.P. along with a colorful, heart-shaped floral display.

Horry County schools are still out for holiday break and won’t resume until next week, so there is no word yet on when schools will have any memorials for the students or how administrators will address the multiple losses, one of which happened the day after Christmas.

Aiden Keahi Thomas Mendoza, 17, of Surfside Beach was out surfing Monday morning when he drowned in Surfside Beach near the 1600 block of South Ocean Boulevard.

A Facebook page states a candlelight vigil is planned for Mendoza, who was known as Keahi, at 7 p.m. Friday at the Surfside Beach Pier.

Details on the page read: “With the love he shared, we will come together to remember the beautiful life Keahi lived. Please bring anything to remember him by as well as new/used shoelaces to be tied along the pier.”

Mendoza was a top cross country runner at Socastee High School who was remembered by his coach in a recent interview with The Sun News as a great runner and a caring person. His track jersey rested on the Socastee High School fence next to the heart-shaped floral display and blew in the breeze on Wednesday.

A YouCaring online crowd funding page has been set up to help Mendoza’s family with funeral costs. By Wednesday afternoon, more than $7,500 had been raised, putting the page’s $12,000 goal nearly within reach.

Information on the site states: “17 yr old Socastee HS Senior, Aiden "Keahi" Mendoza tragically drowned while surfing the day after Christmas. Please help his family cover the tremendous and unexpected expense of the funeral. He was loved by many and will be missed by all ...”

Mendoza was the second Socastee High student to have died in less than a week. During the early morning hours of Dec. 22, three teenage girls died in a single-vehicle crash on Bay Road in the Burgess area of Horry County. A 14-year-old female from St. James Middle School, a 15-year-old female from St. James High School and a 15-year-old female from Socastee High School died from injuries sustained in the wreck, according to Horry County Deputy Coroner Michelle McSpadden.

The families requested the girls’ names not be released, and the coroner’s office is honoring that request, the deputy coroner said.

On Wednesday, South Carolina Highway Patrol Cpl. Sonny Collins said the SCHP Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team was still investigating the crash and that a final report wouldn’t be available until the MAIT wraps up its findings.

Soon after the tragic, fatal crash, people began leaving mementos and created a makeshift sign for the girls at the damaged tree the girls struck in the crash.

Heaped next to a shattered side mirror at the crash site, lay bouquets of flowers, a wooden cross, Cheetos, Ramen Noodles and Reese's peanut butter cups. Balloons and a Christmas wreath hung from nearby trees. And at the tree, splintered with windshield glass and marred by the wreck, were nailed three pink crosses donned with candles and the words "I believe in angels."

This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Memorials pay tribute to teens; candlelight vigil set to honor one who drowned."