NEW TAMPA, Fla.  (WFLA) – Hundreds turned out Wednesday for the funeral of Hailey Acierno, the 17-year-old whose body was found last Friday in a park just two miles from her home.

Family, friends, and classmates dressed in bright colors to signify that she no longer suffers as they stood in line just to get into St. Mark’s Catholic Church on Cross Creek Boulevard.

“It feels very odd,” classmate Tony Robelo said outside the church. “It doesn’t feel like reality has set in yet. I’m sure as events go on, things will start to come together a little bit.”

The New Tampa teen had been reported missing by her family on March 28. Family and friends searched nearby Flatwoods Park for several days. It was one of Hailey’s favorite places.

Soon, the search intensified as law enforcement agencies including the Tampa Police Department, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission joined in on the search.

Billboards were also set up in several areas to help find the teen.

Hailey was bipolar and her parents were extremely concerned the teen wasn’t on her medications.

“When she is not on her medicine, she can barely form a sentence. However, I fully believe God is listening, and I fully believe that if we keep praying, she is going to come home,” her mother Lisa Acierno told News Channel 8 before the tragic discovery on Friday.

On Wednesday, Lisa Acierno said she wants to make sure her daughter didn’t die in vain. She wants to raise a level of awareness for those who live with mental health issues.

Outside the church, some said the reality that Hailey is gone has yet to set in.

“It has been just the most surreal thing and it’s so disheartening that she is gone,” Rebelo said. “Like I said, the reality hasn’t really set in yet. I’m glad that I’m able to be here and spend the time with other people.”

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