Death of teen girl is latest in string of tragedies for Orem family

OREM — Thursday morning, Delos Ballard was sitting with his granddaughter and talking over breakfast about her plans for Halloween and how she got a steal on tickets to the Haunted Forest.

"At least I had that time," he said. "We hugged and kissed and said 'I love you' and I helped her out the door. And I'll never be able to do that again."

Madison Mecum, 13, walked out that door and to the school bus stop, where she was struck by another 13-year-old girl who was apparently driving her aunt's car. Madison was transported to two hospitals before she died from the injuries she suffered in the crash.

Amid the sorrow of their loss, an old wound that has yet to heal has them wondering how they'll even pay to bury Madison. Both Ballard and Madison's mother, Paige, lost much-needed funds when they gave someone money to invest for them. That man then gave their money to Jeffrey Mowen, a Lindon man indicted on charges of running a Ponzi scheme.

They lost everything.

"We're going to be able to find a way," he said. "If we can."

Ballard spoke with tenderness and emotion of his final moments with his granddaughter. When the things that were once so mundane — orange juice or chocolate milk? — suddenly became so vital and so important. He had only flown into town from Washington with his wife on Monday and never could have dreamed his time in Utah would include his final moments with Madison.

"She was our angel," he said. "Always smiling, always cheerful, always ready to play games. That's how we'll remember her. As the light of our life."

His clear blue eyes are rimmed with red and are often overcome by the tears that suddenly fill them. This death is only the latest tragedy for a family that has seen more than its share. Madison's father, Gregg, died in a car accident in 2005. Months later, her older sister Marnie would almost lose her life battling a spinal infection.

The family then battled financial devastations after losing their savings in the Ponzi scheme. Ballard lost much of his retirement fund. Paige Mecum lost most of the insurance money she was awarded after her husband's death.

"(The company) was operated by an individual we thought had integrity and was honest, but apparently he was pretty naive as well," Ballard said of the man with whom he initially invested. "Jeff Mowen was an operator. He knew what to say and how to say it. He convinced the individual we invested with. … Now all that money is gone."