Community Gathers to Celebrate Life of Isadora Wengel

Isadora's family wanted to make it clear that the event was a celebration of life, not a funeral, because they refuse to have a formal funeral until they have remains to properly bury.

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – Members of law enforcement and volunteers from the public are still searching for the remains of Isadora Wengel, but on the evening of March 14, many took a break to congregate at the Avalon Events Center and share their sorrow at her absence.

“I don’t think she ever realized how many people cared about her,” said her mother, Heather Fones.

The celebration brought forth powerful anecdotes and descriptions of Isadora from her mother, father, and sister.

“I’ve been thinking about this ever since she told me she wanted me to come up and do this – how do I sum up two and a half decades of magic?” asked her father, Brian Landsem.

Other friends and family told those gathered about Isadora’s love of karaoke, her dedication to writing poetry, and her proficiency in Mario Kart.

Maleah Jiminez, who has been heading up many of the volunteer search efforts, says that it’s been a powerful experience getting to know someone after they’re already gone.

“You get to see who she was, who loved her, who was loved by her, and it was a lot of people. She was really special,” she said.

“I think at the end of it, the more you get to know her, the more you wish you did know her firsthand.”

She says that it did feel like some healing took place, after spending the time to pay a proper tribute to Isadora, but that, of course, nothing can substitute for the feeling of actually getting her back.

To that end: another volunteer search for Isadora’s remains is scheduled to take place in Battle Lake this coming Saturday, March 21.