She was barely out of her teens, yet friends say Sarah Beckstrom carried herself like someone who understood the weight of a uniform. She volunteered to stand watch so others could sit at their tables, carving turkey and passing plates, believing the streets near the White House were secure. Instead, her final hours were spent beneath hospital lights, her father’s voice breaking over the phone as he admitted there would be no miracle.
Her death turns a political talking point into a human wound. Behind the headlines about crime crackdowns and immigration debates is a Summersville family who will never see their daughter walk back through the door. Andrew Wolfe still fights for his life, a reminder that the gunfire hasn’t finished echoing. The questions about why this happened may take months to answer; the empty chair at the Beckstroms’ table will not.