Candlelit vigil held for 20-year-old Mankato man

Holly Marie Moore, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·2 min read

Sep. 16—To friends and family of Makhi Nave, the 20-year-old was funny, loving and bubbly.

Loved ones and community members gathered at a candlelit vigil Thursday evening at Riverfront Park to remember Nave's life and release balloons in his honor.

Nave's parents, Darrell Nave and Elizabeth Blomgren, remembered him as "an all-around good kid."

"He always tried to make people laugh. Always," Blomgren said. "He loves to dance. He loves food. He was just a nice kid, period."

Dozens of people were in attendance for the vigil Thursday evening, which was put together in about six hours.

For Darrell and Blomgren, the turnout meant that Nave touched a lot of people in the community.

"It means support, is what it means," Blomgren said.

"He's going to be missed by a lot of people," said Darrell.

Nave was born July 26, 2002, according to his obituary, and graduated from Mankato East High School in 2020. He was active in tennis while he was at East and loved dancing, making music beats, Netflix, gaming, hot fries, swimming and spending time with his cat, Dutch. He also enjoyed visiting family in Wichita.

His parents said some of their favorite memories are when he danced.

"It's him showing his creativity, doing dance, and just being a good friend to anyone who was around him," said Darrell.

Cindy Cihak, whose granddaughter was Nave's girlfriend, said it was honoring to have so many people attend Thursday's vigil.

"He was just a close person, very friendly, nice, outgoing," she said.

Mankato Public Safety with assistance from the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office located Nave's body Monday morning near the 600 block of Agency Trail. He'd been reported missing since 12 a.m. Saturday after not contacting his family as of Sunday evening.

Mankato Public Safety confirmed his body was found in Glenwood Pond late Monday morning. The body was sent to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.

A cause of death won't be determined until the toxicology report is complete, likely in four to six weeks.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral expenses.