[Donna Kelley, Cnn Anchor:] A memorial at sea for the victims of Alaska Air Flight 261 a group of surfers paddled into the waters off California on Saturday to pay tribute to those who lost their lives. Family and friends are remembering those who died in the crash of Alaska Air Flight 261. Memorials were held Saturday in California, Oregon and Washington state for the 88 people who died in Monday's crash. CNN's Don Knapp with that of service in Malibu, California.
[Don Knapp, Cnn Correspondent:] In a building overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the Pepperdine University campus, about a thousand family members and friends gathered to remember the passengers and crew of Alaska Airlines Flight 261.
[Gov. Gray Davis , California:] I do know that someday we are likely to know the earthly cause of this accident. But we may never know the answer to our collective question, why did it happen to me? Why did someone I love have to leave me so quickly? Why, God, did this happen?
[Knapp:] The ecumenical service honored different religions of those on the plane.
[Davis:] We are Muslim and Jew, Hindu and Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic. We are different. Yet today, we are the same. We have all wept with you, the same bitter tears of saying goodbye to parents, to a wife, a husband, a sister, a brother, a child.
[Knapp:] Roses representing the 88 victims were given to those attending. Some were kept by family members and friends. Others were placed in baskets and taken by Coast Guard helicopters to be dropped into the Pacific Ocean. [on camera]: Besides remembering and honoring those who died, grief counselors have said a memorial service also helps ease the suffering of those who have lost their loved ones.
[Killorin Riddell, Clinical Psychologist:] It honors the person they lost. And it is an important ritual, I think, throughout human history.
[Knapp:] For closure?
[Riddell:] For closure, and it's very therapeutic.
[Knapp:] White doves, one for each of the passengers who died, soared from the Malibu bluffs, while buglers played taps. Don Knapp, CNN, Malibu, California.
[Kelley:] Navy crews are working quickly to map the Alaska Airlines crash site. The National Transportation Safety Board says Monday's crash scattered the debris over a small area, about the size of a football field. Sonar devices are being used to map the area.