Tribute to a homeless woman killed during an encampment clearing

Police said a homeless woman was killed in Modesto as a Caltrans crew cleared a highway encampment in August.

Sept. 7, 2018 4 AM PT

To the editor: As I sit safe in my home, enjoying nice dinners and other comforts, I think of you, Shannon Marie Bigley, sleeping in a box on a grassy field alongside a highway. Did you enjoy a nice dinner? Probably not. (“Woman killed as Caltrans crew clears homeless encampment in Modesto,” Aug. 30)

Did anyone care that your home was a box? Or that a frontloader was clearing the area, having no idea that you were inside that box?

Someone once cared for you. I know you were there, facing that unknown danger. Maybe I could have helped. But you will not be forgotten.

We are all our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers. We hope this tragic end will never happen to anyone else. Rest in peace, Shannon Marie Bigley; I wish I had known you.

Sallie C. Russell, Costa Mesa

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