Young cancer patient dies months after surprise princess parade in Dickinson

DICKINSON, TX (KTRK) -- We have a heartbreaking update to a story we brought you in February. The little Dickinson girl who became the center of a giant surprise princess parade has lost her battle to cancer.

Claire Lankford, 5, died Saturday, about a year and half after she was diagnosed with cancer.

"It's terminal. She has just a couple months. She has five tumors in her lungs and lymph nodes," family friend Jaime Harbuck told Eyewitness News earlier this year.

That's why Harbuck had decided to do something special for the girl and make her a princess for a day. When the word got out, the entire community in Dickinson pitched in to help.

They held a massive princess parade, during which Lankford and her parents were escorted by carriage, and a local bridal shop made a special princess dress for the girl. Lankford was even greeted by other princesses, including Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Belle.

Harbuck said she had wanted the little girl to enjoy however many days she had left to live.

The funeral will be held Wednesday, but the service is not open to the public.