Melissa Martinez, left, sits with her mother, Rebecca Snook in this family contributed photo.
Posted on 01/02/2011 9:25:17 AM PST by artichokegrower
SCOTTS VALLEY -- Melissa Martinez, the 17-year-old from Scotts Valley who perished in a warehouse fire in New Orleans on Tuesday morning, could have returned home, but her soft heart led her to stay with friends instead, according to her mother Rebecca Snook.
"She compassionately made a choice to join her new friends in their discomfort in the bitter cold," her mother said in a statement from New Orleans, sharing the story with her daughter's friends in Scotts Valley. "In her characteristically powerful way, she was respecting and supporting their lifestyle choice. She was enjoying their company purely for what they had to offer. She showed acceptance of their choice to be in this city and that building that night."
The Associated Press has reported that survivors of the fire told authorities that the five men and three women who perished were squatters and had been burning trash and other materials in a barrel to keep warm when the temperature hovered around 32 degrees.
Martinez's parents said she was not homeless. Her father said she had moved to New Orleans to live with her mother. Her mother said she had a home there and had spent four years in that city.
Snook described her daughter as "a beautiful artist and poet," "incredibly intelligent and a straight A student," "a hero to her younger brother" and "a strong guiding light in the storms flooding her loved ones' lives."
An animal lover, she envisioned herself traveling overseas Advertisement to help in animal rescue efforts. She had been recovering from "an immeasurably traumatic and nearly destructive experience," which led her to reach out to close friends, according to her mother.
"These people became her stable support system until two years ago when she was ready to seek help from her close family," she added. "Her ability to prevail in the wake of these difficult times as a stronger, more beautiful, loving and forgiving person was something I will forever honor."
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that Martinez had been working for the past month at Mona's Cafe in Faubourg Marigny, a neighborhood near the French Quarter.
Emile Seibert, a day manager at the cafe, told the Times-Picayune "she was sweet, even a little timid" but never late for work.
Friends of Martinez want to organize a memorial for her in Scotts Valley, where she grew up.
"We really want to remember her," said Kelsea Brough, 18, a senior at Scotts Valley High School. "She was really loved."
Brough described Martinez as "one of my best friends" and "more of an independent person, a go-getter" who "didn't let anything stop her."
The two met at an assembly at Scotts Valley Middle School where they realized they shared a crush on actor Johnny Depp.
After that "we hung out together all the time," Brough said.
As freshmen at Scotts Valley High, they decided they would go out for track together.
Sophomore year, they were in four classes together.
"We would write notes back and forth," Brough said.
She was impressed at how Martinez got herself a job so she could have spending money.
She worked after school two hours a day at a dental office in Scotts Valley .
The summer after her sophomore year, Martinez decided to leave Scotts Valley, where she had lived with her father and stepmother, Angel and Jennifer Martinez, and move to New Orleans to live with her mom and family there.
"I was upset because we had so much fun together," Brough said.
"She was always such a sweet girl," agreed Clara Kimchi, a friend since sixth grade.
"She always had the ability to turn a bad day into a good one," said Melissa Weckerle, another friend. "She had such a positive attitude and was fun to be around. We'll miss her very much."
The Scotts Valley girl was among the first four fire victims to be identified. The others were Jonathan Guerrero, 20, of Texas ; Jeffrey Geerts, 22, of Abbotsford , Wis.; and Katie Simianer, 21, of Alliance, Neb.
Incredible...
Reality: Disturbed child pointlessly dies in squalor.
The mother is delusional who will not accept any responsibility for the death of her daughter...
Denial is not just a river in Egypt.....
It’s always interesting to hear from people from other planets
They change names and personas in this story so fast; I can’t keep up.
Did this girl burn up in a fire?
Yeah, reminds me of the Israeli tractor girl ... and John Walker Lindh.
You said it!
Why do comments on people’s deaths say ‘she was loved’ or ‘she’ll be missed’ instead of ‘I loved/will miss her?.’ It just never sounds personal.
The mother glorifying her daughter’s actions, given that she was only 17, sounds more like a justification of her own failure to exercise parental responsibility of having her daughter at home, and not off in a dangerous under any circumstances warehouse. I’ve been in a couple of those warehouses along the Mississippi and would know better than to allow my daughter to stay there.
We know where Melissa's soft heart came from . . . and sadly where she got her soft head too.
She wasn’t respecting their choices, she was hanging out and feeling all big and grownup because mom and her warm bed could be ignored for a night.
sheesh
I’ve long maintained that the liberal capacity for self delusion is bottomless, but this is nearly unbelievable.
Sad, wasted life. RIP.
My daughter was a 17 year old druggie whore living, illegally, in squalor in a deserted warehouse. Nah, that truth is too hard to say, so I'll just remember her in my fantasy mind, lalalalalala.
Quite twisted.
Makes me think the girl didn’t really have much of a chance. It’s sad that so many are growing up in such dysfunction.
Sad and sickening. The mother is “celebrating” her daughter squatting in a warehouse burning trash to keep warm. What idiots. She could have been at home and they could have been in a homeless shelter.
“...enjoying their company purely for what they had to offer.”
They had to offer no effing common sense.
Years ago before I dumped Obama TV - I would watch Cesar Milan’s dog whisperer show. Even when I had TV I rarely watched it but I would tune him in from time to time.
The problem with all the dogs is the owners were psychos. Calif liberals. They were just like this girl’s mother. The dogs were fine but the owners were insane.
This young girl would have been better off if she had been raised by wolves.
Says it all, doesn't it?
It's not often you encounter so much drug-laced treacle in one story...
Drugs?
Besides, her friends had better drugs than her mom.
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