Source: http://www.newsfirst5.com
Authors: Zach Thaxton and Lisa Lyden

Sunday, March 3, 1991. 9:43 a.m. United Airlines Flight 585, on final approach to Colorado Springs, abruptly nosedives into Widefield Community Park. 25 passengers and crew die instantly. 20 years later, a handful of victims' family members gather to commemorate the anniversary of one of the deadliest single incidents in El Paso County history.

"The pain never goes away," said Diane Russell of Birmingham, Alabama. Her 22-year-old daughter Monica Smiley was a flight attendant on-board Flight 585. An aspiring model who had appeared in a Rob Base music video, Monica had her whole life ahead of her. "We think and wonder what you would be doing now if you were still here with us," Russell says while reading from a letter to her late daughter.

Jack Olafson's father-in-law, Vincent Riga, was on his way back to Colorado Springs from a business trip when Flight 585 crashed. "Today is a great day of remembrance," he said. "It's brought back a lot of emotions. I haven't been down here in awhile."

Family members presented two former Security Fire Department first responders with roses for their efforts on that day. Dozens of emergency responders and volunteers combed the debris, recovering whatever they could from the charred and dismembered remains of the 25 people on-board. Louis Matthews didn't return to the site for 19 years. "The trauma of that day, emotionally, is overwhelming," he said.

A letter left at the gazebo that stands as a memorial to the crash victims was read aloud to the gathered family members. "I was one of the young searchers helping collect the remains of your loved ones," the letter began. "Please find solace in the fact that your loved ones' remains were treated with respect while we collected them. They will never be forgotten."