An interdenominational fundraising luncheon Saturday collected money for Aaron Thompson and Shelley Lowe to buy Christmas gifts to give their eight children when they are allowed to reunite Friday.
Thompson, who recently lost his position as a security guard and whose two cars are being held as police evidence, is short on cash, said the Rev. Acen Phillips, who arranged the fundraiser at Aurora’s Radisson Hotel.
Aurora police consider Lowe and Thompson “persons of interest” in Aaroné Thompson’s disappearance. Her father reported her missing Nov. 14, about two weeks before her 7th birthday.
“Aaron and Shelley have been granted this opportunity to see their children before Christmas, but because he’d been terminated, because of all the activity surrounding them, they had no money to buy gifts,” Phillips said.
The other children were removed from the home after Aaroné’s disappearance became a homicide investigation.
Phillips was unsure how much money was raised by supporters from Mount Gilead Baptist Church, Macedonia Baptist Church, Central Baptist Church and other churches, along with donations from local businesses.
