Kendall Rae

And this isn't what you would typically think of when you think of a pageant.

Instead, it was really a celebration of the native Alaskan heritage and something that Sonia was really proud of.

So this was really an exciting time for Sonia in her life.

I mean, she was prepping towards new goals, but she was also doing a bunch of new things in the meantime.

And it got even better because just a couple of months after she arrived in Nome, her best friend, Timory, moved there too and started living with Sonia.

The two of them were extremely close, and they shared everything from makeup to clothes and even a bed together.

And they both really settled into their new town very easily.

They started to make friends very quickly.

They were starting to save money.

And since neither of them had a car, they were walking everywhere, which was something that they loved to do and also something that they felt safe doing.

But unfortunately, everything changed for them on August 10th, 2003.

That night, they went to a friend's house.

And according to Timree, it was a very chill night.

They were hanging out.

Sonia only had one beer.

They were playing board games.

And then a little bit before 1 a.m.,

Sonia and Timmery decided it was time to call it a night.

So Timmery actually had work really early in the morning, so she decided to crash at a friend's house nearby.

But Sonia wanted to go back home, so the two of them parted ways.