Gary and Sherry Arnold, October 2009
Courtesy of Arnold Family
Funeral services for the teacher abducted Jan. 7 during a pre-dawn jog through her rural Montana town will be held Friday at the high school where she taught algebra.Two drifters are charged with kidnapping Sherry Arnold, 43, a mom of two kids and three stepkids. After one of the men allegedly confessed to burying her in unattended farmland, the FBI on March 21 discovered her body near Williston, N.D.
Family members say they remain devastated by the loss, but they don't want to become consumed with anger for the defendants.
"We just want Sherry back," Rhonda Whited, Arnold's sister, tells PEOPLE. "We can't spend too much time hatin'. God takes care of that for you."
Whited adds she is glad that the men have been caught and "at least we can keep them from hurting anyone else."
Michael Keith Spell, 22, and Lester Van Waters Jr., 47, both of Parachute, Colo., have pleaded not guilty to one count each of aggravated kidnapping.
The service is at 2 p.m. Friday at the Sidney High School gym. The district is releasing all students and staff at noon that day so they may attend the service.