99 Lanterns Released Saturday In Memory Of Middletown Girl, 14

KEANSBURG, NJ — This Saturday, Sept. 30 Keansburg Amusement Park will hold a special memorial service for a 14-year-old Middletown girl who died last September.

The girl is Jocelyn 'Jocey' Walters, who died on Sept. 9, 2022. She was only 14 years old and she was a sophomore at Middletown High School North. She was a goalie for a travel soccer team. She was also a part-time employee at Keansburg Amusement Park.

That's why the amusement park will release 99 lanterns immediately after sunset Saturday evening, in memory of Walters. Money raised will also go to the foundation set up by her family, 99 Smiles. Saturday is also Keansburg Day and 99 Smiles and Walters' family will have a tent set up from 2-7 p.m. to raise awareness of her death. T-shirts will be available for purchase.

Says Keansburg Amusement Park: "We encourage everyone who is there for Jocey to wear the color purple and we will do our lantern release in her memory at the end of night after Keansburg Day. Join us to make a difference and show the world kindness matters."

Here is the event listing: https://www.facebook.com/event...

Keansburg Amusement Park said they plan to release the lanterns every September in Walters' memory.

The lantern release was supposed to be earlier this September — on the exact one-year anniversary of her death — but for various reasons it was postponed to this Saturday. It will also be at a new location: 1 Beachway Avenue across from Half Moon restaurant.

Keansburg Day will also have other tents, vendors, food trucks, live music, face painting, fireworks and more. Guests are encouraged to bring outdoor chairs for the concert.

Original Patch report on her death: Funeral Services Announced For Middletown Girl, 14 (Sept. 14, 2022)

Bullying A Big Topic At Most Recent Middletown School Board Meeting (Oct. 6, 2022)

At the time of her death, the Walters family wants to start a foundation to raise awareness of the issues teens are battling with today, including prescription drugs, social media, the pandemic, bullying and lack of psychiatric help.

"Our teens need our help. There are issues that are not being spoken about," said a family friend last September. "How many more kids does this have to take to have things change?"