Raj was a victim of murder. A native of Fiji, she was the youngest of 11 children and was nicknamed Lalli ("little daughter" in Hindi) by her family. She was especially close to her mother and her brothers Jai "Bobby" Prasad and Biren Prasad. She and Jai were married a day apart and had their first children born within six weeks of each other.
Through her brothers, she became acquainted with Ashok Narain. With her family's blessing, they were married and moved to Eugene, Oregon. Raj was the first of her family to leave their island of Viti Levu, Fiji, and the only one to immigrate to the U.S.
A baby girl was born to the couple on June 29, 1986 and they named her Kamnee Koushal Narain. Raj sent letters to her brothers and audiotapes to her mother, who could not read or write. But sometime in 1987, the family suddenly stopped hearing from her, and in America her disappearance went unreported.
Starting in 2004, Jai Prasad—who had immigrated to Australia—used the Internet to search nightly for information related to his sister. One night he came across a police sketch of a toddler whose body had been found in the Cowlitz River in Washington on September 24, 1987. He immediately recognized her from photos his sister had sent of Kamnee. He also learned that the remains of a woman two months pregnant had been found near there on September 11, 1987, and that police believed the two to be mother and child.
Determined to find Raj, he purchased airline tickets for his first trip to the U.S. and came to Kelso, Washington to speak with the police. At the unmarked grave of his sister he laid a dozen red roses, with a dozen blood red carnations for her baby, and told her: "You will always be remembered and I am here with a promise that I will bring you home."
Jai and his siblings in Australia and Fiji provided samples of their DNA to Interpol, and on September 25, 2007 the mother and child were formally identified as Raj Mati and Kamnee Koushal Narain.
On October 17, 2007 their bodies were exhumed and—in a single coffin with Kamnee resting in her mother's arms—Jai fulfilled his promise and brought them home to Fiji. In a traditional Hindu ceremony in Baulevu, with about 500 people in attendance, they were accorded funeral rites and cremated, their ashes later scattered to the sea.
Jai Prasad has since established a memorial fund in his sister's and niece's names to ensure education for village girls in Fiji, to help them avoid his sister's fate.
••❤❤•• Thank you A Marine's Daughter for the creation of this memorial ••❤❤••
Through her brothers, she became acquainted with Ashok Narain. With her family's blessing, they were married and moved to Eugene, Oregon. Raj was the first of her family to leave their island of Viti Levu, Fiji, and the only one to immigrate to the U.S.
A baby girl was born to the couple on June 29, 1986 and they named her Kamnee Koushal Narain. Raj sent letters to her brothers and audiotapes to her mother, who could not read or write. But sometime in 1987, the family suddenly stopped hearing from her, and in America her disappearance went unreported.
Starting in 2004, Jai Prasad—who had immigrated to Australia—used the Internet to search nightly for information related to his sister. One night he came across a police sketch of a toddler whose body had been found in the Cowlitz River in Washington on September 24, 1987. He immediately recognized her from photos his sister had sent of Kamnee. He also learned that the remains of a woman two months pregnant had been found near there on September 11, 1987, and that police believed the two to be mother and child.
Determined to find Raj, he purchased airline tickets for his first trip to the U.S. and came to Kelso, Washington to speak with the police. At the unmarked grave of his sister he laid a dozen red roses, with a dozen blood red carnations for her baby, and told her: "You will always be remembered and I am here with a promise that I will bring you home."
Jai and his siblings in Australia and Fiji provided samples of their DNA to Interpol, and on September 25, 2007 the mother and child were formally identified as Raj Mati and Kamnee Koushal Narain.
On October 17, 2007 their bodies were exhumed and—in a single coffin with Kamnee resting in her mother's arms—Jai fulfilled his promise and brought them home to Fiji. In a traditional Hindu ceremony in Baulevu, with about 500 people in attendance, they were accorded funeral rites and cremated, their ashes later scattered to the sea.
Jai Prasad has since established a memorial fund in his sister's and niece's names to ensure education for village girls in Fiji, to help them avoid his sister's fate.
••❤❤•• Thank you A Marine's Daughter for the creation of this memorial ••❤❤••
Raj was a victim of murder. A native of Fiji, she was the youngest of 11 children and was nicknamed Lalli ("little daughter" in Hindi) by her family. She was especially close to her mother and her brothers Jai "Bobby" Prasad and Biren Prasad. She and Jai were married a day apart and had their first children born within six weeks of each other.
Through her brothers, she became acquainted with Ashok Narain. With her family's blessing, they were married and moved to Eugene, Oregon. Raj was the first of her family to leave their island of Viti Levu, Fiji, and the only one to immigrate to the U.S.
A baby girl was born to the couple on June 29, 1986 and they named her Kamnee Koushal Narain. Raj sent letters to her brothers and audiotapes to her mother, who could not read or write. But sometime in 1987, the family suddenly stopped hearing from her, and in America her disappearance went unreported.
Starting in 2004, Jai Prasad—who had immigrated to Australia—used the Internet to search nightly for information related to his sister. One night he came across a police sketch of a toddler whose body had been found in the Cowlitz River in Washington on September 24, 1987. He immediately recognized her from photos his sister had sent of Kamnee. He also learned that the remains of a woman two months pregnant had been found near there on September 11, 1987, and that police believed the two to be mother and child.
Determined to find Raj, he purchased airline tickets for his first trip to the U.S. and came to Kelso, Washington to speak with the police. At the unmarked grave of his sister he laid a dozen red roses, with a dozen blood red carnations for her baby, and told her: "You will always be remembered and I am here with a promise that I will bring you home."
Jai and his siblings in Australia and Fiji provided samples of their DNA to Interpol, and on September 25, 2007 the mother and child were formally identified as Raj Mati and Kamnee Koushal Narain.
On October 17, 2007 their bodies were exhumed and—in a single coffin with Kamnee resting in her mother's arms—Jai fulfilled his promise and brought them home to Fiji. In a traditional Hindu ceremony in Baulevu, with about 500 people in attendance, they were accorded funeral rites and cremated, their ashes later scattered to the sea.
Jai Prasad has since established a memorial fund in his sister's and niece's names to ensure education for village girls in Fiji, to help them avoid his sister's fate.
••❤❤•• Thank you A Marine's Daughter for the creation of this memorial ••❤❤••
Through her brothers, she became acquainted with Ashok Narain. With her family's blessing, they were married and moved to Eugene, Oregon. Raj was the first of her family to leave their island of Viti Levu, Fiji, and the only one to immigrate to the U.S.
A baby girl was born to the couple on June 29, 1986 and they named her Kamnee Koushal Narain. Raj sent letters to her brothers and audiotapes to her mother, who could not read or write. But sometime in 1987, the family suddenly stopped hearing from her, and in America her disappearance went unreported.
Starting in 2004, Jai Prasad—who had immigrated to Australia—used the Internet to search nightly for information related to his sister. One night he came across a police sketch of a toddler whose body had been found in the Cowlitz River in Washington on September 24, 1987. He immediately recognized her from photos his sister had sent of Kamnee. He also learned that the remains of a woman two months pregnant had been found near there on September 11, 1987, and that police believed the two to be mother and child.
Determined to find Raj, he purchased airline tickets for his first trip to the U.S. and came to Kelso, Washington to speak with the police. At the unmarked grave of his sister he laid a dozen red roses, with a dozen blood red carnations for her baby, and told her: "You will always be remembered and I am here with a promise that I will bring you home."
Jai and his siblings in Australia and Fiji provided samples of their DNA to Interpol, and on September 25, 2007 the mother and child were formally identified as Raj Mati and Kamnee Koushal Narain.
On October 17, 2007 their bodies were exhumed and—in a single coffin with Kamnee resting in her mother's arms—Jai fulfilled his promise and brought them home to Fiji. In a traditional Hindu ceremony in Baulevu, with about 500 people in attendance, they were accorded funeral rites and cremated, their ashes later scattered to the sea.
Jai Prasad has since established a memorial fund in his sister's and niece's names to ensure education for village girls in Fiji, to help them avoid his sister's fate.
••❤❤•• Thank you A Marine's Daughter for the creation of this memorial ••❤❤••
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