Somer Thompson -- Found Deceased 10/21/09

You may not know, but I live in a town of 500 people. That's right... 500! Total. It is very rural. Finally, I have made the point to my tubby that this is why I don't let our wee one stand outside alone waiting for the bus in the morning.......it can happen in Anywhere, USA. Right under your nose. When you feel safe. When you feel confident. He doesn't think I am "overreacting" anymore. At least there's that. God Bless the children. Why, oh why, does this keep happening? kh

This is so beyond heartbreaking.... I know her parents are terrified right now... my heart goes out to this family.

Even if by some miracle it turned out not to be Somer.... it is still SOMEONE'S child. So sad....

I understand there was a fight on the way home from school with her twin brother and their older sister. And then Somer ran ahead.... Those poor children, what a nightmare for them.

I'm glad you all are on this and posting updates, it does not look good at all.

A small childs body has been found in a landfill in Folkston, Georgia. HLN is reporting that the body is a small white child. It has not been identified yet but they are reporting that the trucks that go to this landfill are from the same area as Somer.

Thoughts and Prayers for the family of this child.

Our children should be safe walking home from school, playing in a park, riding a bike. Our laws need to change, we NEED to keep sex offenders off our streets and reclaim them for our children.

With that being said, the timeline is very narrow on this. The garbage came from her area.

They need to look very close to home. Where was the "friend" while the other kids were out looking? Did he go with them? Or did he stay behind in case Somer came home?

I'm not pointing fingers mind you, just asking questons I hope LE is asking.

OMG, this is about all I can take. Enough! There just has to be something that can be done. Does this seem to be happening more and more or is it now we just hear it more because of the 24 hour news? It sure seems to me though, that it's happening a lot more.
My heart is breaking for this family and this little girl. This isn't about parents who did something wrong. This isn't about a child who shouldn't have run off on her own. This is about sick bastards being loose in our society. This is about not being able to catch these sicko's early enough in their childhood and either get them help or lock them up. I don't know the answers. I sure wish I did. I am just sick over this. And I am pissed! I have had it. There are a hell of a lot of very smart people in this world. We have got to do something about this problem. I am sick of watching our children being taken from right under our noses and damn it, right out of our OWN freaking homes, where they should be safe, and murdered every single night on the tv!

i'm reading this child that was found, has the same birth mark as Somer Thompson has. Her father wants to take his other child(ren) (not sure if he has more than the other twin to Somer or not right now), back home with him and out of FL. The home of Disney, my ass!

Well, I'm not sure if my post above about the birth mark was actually accurate now or not. This article below says that the birthmark has not been confirmed. Although I say this certainly looks grim, I am hoping and holding out hope, this sweet, beautiful little girl, IS still alive.

I'm struggling tonight to not, scare the hell out of my children and NEVER allow them to leave my sight again!



http://blog.taragana.com/n/police-searching-for-missing-florida-girl-find-a-childs-body-in-landfill-not-yet-identified-202630/

Cops searching for missing Fla. girl find a body

ORANGE PARK, Fla. — Authorities say they have not identified a child’s body they found Wednesday in a landfill while searching for a missing 7-year-old girl. Family members were hopeful the girl is still alive, though neighbors in the girl’s community feared the worst.

The partially covered body of the child was found in a Georgia landfill near the Florida state line, after investigators followed garbage trucks leaving from the neighborhood where Somer Thompson disappeared Monday.

Sheriff Rick Beseler said investigators searched through 100 tons of garbage before finding the body. He first said the body was female, then corrected himself to say he could not confirm the gender.

Few other details about the body, such as a possible cause of death, were released. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation planned an autopsy Thursday.

Somer vanished on her mile-long walk home from school Monday in Orange Park. She was squabbling with another child, and her sister told her to stop. The girl got upset, walked ahead of the group and wasn’t seen again.

The girl’s aunt, Laura Holt, said family members were going through an agonizing wait to find out whose body was found.

“I’m still holding out hope this is not Somer,” Holt said Wednesday night, her voice cracking.

Earlier, the girl’s father, Sam Thompson, who lives in Graham, N.C., pleaded for her safe return. Holt is his sister.

“Somer, your daddy Sam loves you unconditionally. Stay strong and don’t give up the fight or the hope that we’re going to be a family again. I love you,” he said before authorities revealed they had found the body.

That news was an awful blow to her brother, Holt said. He nearly had a breakdown not long after, when someone claiming to be part of the search team in Florida told him they had positively identified the child as his daughter because of a birthmark. The claim was quickly found to be false after a call to the sheriff, she said.

“My brother just fell apart. He thought he was having a heart attack,” she said. Thompson is now staying at an undisclosed family member’s home to get away from the “circus” in front of his house.

Orange Park is a suburb of Jacksonville just south of Jacksonville Naval Air Station. The area where the girl disappeared is a heavily populated residential area with homes, apartment complexes and condominiums.

A crowd of about 150 people, some crying, gathered across the street from Somer’s home, many clutching their children tightly. Others placed flowers under a tree.

“We are all devastated,” said Tonya Jennings, a grandmother who lived three doors away and often saw the girl and her siblings come home from school. “I knew her.”

Jennings, 61, was with her two granddaughters, Nina Guitierez, 9, and Aria Michaels, 8, who attend Grove Park Elementary School with Somer.

“We will need to be more vigilant. There are pedophiles everywhere in the area,” she said.

John Latavia, 43, said his children attended school with Somer.

“All we can do is pray and come together,” he said.

Associated Press Writers Jeffrey S. Collins in Columbia, S.C., Tom Foreman in Raleigh, N.C., and Dorie Turner in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Oh, God...this is just horrible news...

Tracey, I know what you mean. I have been going through emotions from crying to down right pissed, as well. It's just horrible. My grand daughter is almost 11 yrs old and I still won't allow her to walk to school, even though she begs to do so. I hear, almost every day, "But Nana, so & so walks". Well, I don't care what her parents allow her to do, you know? I just can't do it. I refuse to! It's a scary world out there.

Yesterday, I saw something that scared me half to death. One of my neighbors' children (a few doors down), when he was in high school, was removed from normal public school for kissing two children (boy & girl) approx. 6-7 years old, in a hallway at school. This was at least five years ago. I was told this by his aunt. Yesterday, I saw him on the corner as a school crossing guard! I will NEVER allow my grand daughter to walk to school at this rate. There are just too many freaks out there.

I pray that this is not little Somer, but I guess it doesn't matter as it IS SOMEONE'S little girl, either way, it's a child that lost it's life in some manner.

FystyAngel wrote:A small childs body has been found in a landfill in Folkston, Georgia. HLN is reporting that the body is a small white child. It has not been identified yet but they are reporting that the trucks that go to this landfill are from the same area as Somer.

Hi, Fysty!

I saw this on HLN last night too. Sad to say this, but, my instincts tell me that it is little Somer. My heart aches for her family.

The way things are these days, I don't think parents should allow their children to walk home from school alone. Their parents should take them to & from school. They might have to rearrange their schedules, but, it would surely keep their child safe from predators. Just look at how many sex offenders live in Somer's neighborhood! One can never be too careful where their children's lives are concerned.

I agree that it is probably Somer. I don't blame any parent who won't allow their kid to walk home from school or walk anywhere without an adult for that matter. It's getting too dangerous to even let your children play in the front yard without being out there with them or at least constantly watching out the window. Victoria Stafford disappeared while walking home from school, Lindsey Baum disappeared while walking home from a friend's house, and Sandra Cantu and Nevaeh Buchanan disappeared while playing outside by themselves. It is sad that in order to keep our children safe, we can't give them anywhere near as much freedom as we had when we were kids.

Body Of Missing Fla. Girl Found In Garbage Dump
Sherriff Decries 'Heinous Crime,' Says 'There Is A Child Killer On The Loose'

ORANGE PARK, Fla. (CBS) ―Authorities say they have tentatively identified missing 7-year-old Somer Thompson's body, found Wednesday in a landfill.

The partially covered body of the child was found in a Georgia landfill near the Florida state line, after investigators followed garbage trucks leaving from the neighborhood where she disappeared Monday.

Sheriff Rick Beseler said investigators searched through 100 tons of garbage before finding the body.

"There is a child killer on the loose… this is a heinous crime that has been committed," Bessler said. "Had we not done this tactic I believe this body would have been buried under hundreds of tons of debris and probably would never have been discovered."

"This is the break in the case that we needed. Now we just need one more break: to find the people responsible for this," Bessler said.

The identification was made using a birthmark and clothing.

Few other details about the body, such as a possible cause of death, were released. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation planned an autopsy Thursday.

Somer vanished on her mile-long walk home from school Monday in Orange Park. She was squabbling with another child, and her sister told her to stop. The girl got upset, walked ahead of the group and wasn't seen again.

Authorities launched a massive effort to find her - searching block by block - even interviewing more than 75 registered sex offenders who live within a few miles of the girl's home, reports CBS News correspondent Don Teague.

Earlier, the girl's father, Sam Thompson, who lives in Graham, N.C., pleaded for her safe return.

"Somer, your daddy Sam loves you unconditionally. Stay strong and don't give up the fight or the hope that we're going to be a family again. I love you," he said before authorities revealed they had found the body.

Orange Park is a suburb of Jacksonville just south of Jacksonville Naval Air Station. The area where the girl disappeared is a heavily populated residential area with homes, apartment complexes and condominiums.

A crowd of about 150 people, some crying, gathered across the street from Somer's home, many clutching their children tightly. Others placed flowers under a tree.

"We are all devastated," said Tonya Jennings, a grandmother who lived three doors away and often saw the girl and her siblings come home from school. "I knew her."

Jennings, 61, was with her two granddaughters, Nina Guitierez, 9, and Aria Michaels, 8, who attend Grove Park Elementary School with Somer.

"We will need to be more vigilant. There are pedophiles everywhere in the area," she said.

John Latavia, 43, said his children attended school with Somer.

"All we can do is pray and come together," he said.

I feel ya, babs. I feel ya. kh kh

I have a niece that lives in the Orange Park neighborhood...It is upscale but has a lot of crime...I worry about her and her son all the time...I feel badly for Somer's siblings...It is difficult to explain death to children...Hopefully they will take advantage of grief counselling...Hospice has a great grief service...

Estee wrote:I have a niece that lives in the Orange Park neighborhood...It is upscale but has a lot of crime...I worry about her and her son all the time...I feel badly for Somer's siblings...It is difficult to explain death to children...Hopefully they will take advantage of grief counselling...Hospice has a great grief service...

{{{{Estee}}} Oh my goodness, talk about hitting waaayy too close to home. I can't imagine how worried you must be. I am sure that the parents in that community will be like hawks watching out for their children. At least until, this child killer is found. I only pray so any way.

I have to say, for the most part, I am just really angry about this. I can't remember feeling this kind of rage in a while. It's like we have all said, there just has to be more we can do. But what are the answers. I don't know. It kind of made me angry to see the Gov. of Fl on tv last night. All I could think is he was there because someone told him it was a good idea as a photo op to show he is upset. But look at the history of what has been happening in Fl, esp. and what is being done? Not enough!

I am happy they found Somer so quickly because hopefully this will help find her killer. It's bizarre to me that this killer had what seems to be only a few hours. Does it seem to anyone else here that she was literally kidnapped and killed immediately? My goodness, what kind of monster does this? My he/she be found swiftly and be put to death!

Ok, and I am going to bring this up to discuss. Somers mother. She appears to be medicated or something. I have seen her a lot on the news, yet haven't seen any actual tears. Sound like crying, kind of looks like crying. But no tears. And did anyone hear her answer to the reporters when she was asked if Somer's dad would be coming from S. Carolina? She said, well, not to stay at my house. You could definitely tell there are very bad feelings between them still. But now? I don't know. Just odd.

Please don't misunderstand what I mean here. I am only bringing this up, to point out that, I will not ever go off of a parents reaction to something like this again. All it would have taken were a few variables of this situation for people to be pointing fingers at her. Saying she doesn't look like a grieving mother. Say for instance, Somer had made it home, left the house, and didn't tell anyone, no one had seen her and then turned up killed. It's very possible, even I would be saying, yep, something happened in that home.

So, I guess I'm just saying, we've seen so many variations of what the families go through now. I sincerely believe, no one can say how you would react if this happens to your family. I think she is in complete shock and it hasn't hit her yet. My heart just breaks for her when reality finally comes crashing down. I pray for a very swift resolution to this case. May Somer rest in Peace and justice be hers soon!

Having sufferd the loss of my youngest son (26) I can tell you that one truly SUFFERS...I had to pull all my inner strength together (with a few Prozac and a lot of faith)...I've never been one to openly cry, but cry in the privacy of my home I did...I had to be the ROCK of my family..to help my girls and other son thru this loss...I still have very depressing days and little memories bring me to tears...Shock is what hits you initially...everything seems so surreal...it still does for me...I try to think of it as him being away on a trip...It is very hard...