Hundreds of Indian-Americans gathered in a Hindu temple in Chesterfield County on Saturday night for a vigil honoring one of its founders, Paresh D. Patel, who was abducted and killed last week.

They spoke of the shock and sadness they felt learning that a man so important to the local Indian community — a kind and gentle man, a husband and a father of two children — had been slain.

Devraj Desai, a Chester hotel owner, called it "a big tragedy for our community."

Patel, 44, was abducted a week ago as he was opening the RaceWay gas station he owned on Jefferson Davis Highway.

On Thursday, a city worker found his body on the south side of the James River near Richmond's wastewater treatment plant.

The state medical examiner's office identified the remains as Patel's on Friday.

Desai said that as he talked with members of his community about Patel's kidnapping and slaying, "everybody has the same question." They all want to know why someone so positive, charming and helpful would have been killed.

"That is the biggest mystery," Desai said.

"He would never argue, nothing," said Mitul Patel of Chesterfield, who is not related to Paresh Patel. "He was a real simple guy."

A witness of the abduction reported seeing two men wearing dark clothing and hoodies force Patel into a van shortly before 6 a.m. last Sunday. Patel was never heard from or seen again.

If police have any clues about why he was abducted and killed, they have not made them public.

Chesterfield police, the lead agency in the investigation, did not have any update Saturday night, and the cause of Patel's death has not been released.

On Saturday, members of the Richmond region's Indian community filed into the temple where Patel went every Sunday, the temple he helped move from a rented barbershop to an expansive building on Jefferson Davis Highway. Relatives also poured in from Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina.

Women dressed in flowing Indian saris and men in white Indian dress clothes entered the temple's doors, removed their shoes and separated by gender, according to tradition. They chanted God's name softly and sang prayers. "Glory to God," they said in their native Gujarati, the language of Patel's home state of Gujarat in western India.

"We are praying for the families to … give them the strength to pass through this tragedy," said Devang Thakar, who does maintenance work for the temple.

Paresh Patel's nephew, Brijesh Patel, said Paresh's mother, wife and children are supported by a close-knit extended family and the local Indian community.

"They're just trying to figure out what happened," he said.

Rajendra Patel, another relative, said police have not notified family members of any leads.

"They're trying their very best to assist us," he said.

Brijesh Patel said the family is angry that his uncle's killer or killers are still at large.

"It's an extremely tough time for the family," he said.

He said the medical examiner's office still has custody of Patel's body.