UPDATE:
The body of a small child has been found in a landfill in Folkston, Georgia. It is being assumed that it is the body of Somer Thompson by the media here in Jacksonville. My thoughts and prayers are with Somer's family.
Somer Renee Thompson disappeared yesterday near her school in Orange Park, Florida. (A suburb of Jacksonville.) The Clay County Sheriff's Office says it is asking for information about a blue sedan seen in the neighborhood 10 days ago. Authorities say the occupants, two men and a woman, tried to lure a young girl into the car. (This issue has been resolved and the Sheriff is no longer searching for this car.)
The little girl hasn't been seen since Monday afternoon. The girl's mother notified the sheriff's office around 5 p.m. that her daughter had not returned home from school.
Thompson is a second-grader at Grove Park Elementary. Police say she is a white female, 3 feet 5 inches tall and about 65 pounds. She has brown hair and was last seen wearing a cranberry colored jumpsuit with pink striped sleeves.
She was last seen at 2:45 p.m. walking home from school near West Gano Avenue and Debarry Avenue. [Map it]
She was with her brother and friends, but separated from them, running ahead towards her home.
She's only seven years old. Please take a good look at her, even if you are not in the Jacksonville area. By now, she could be anywhere within 12 hours driving distance. I can make it to NYC in 12 hours.
Anyone with information on Thompson is asked to call 911, or the CCSO non-emergency line at (904) 264-6512. You can also call First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS. You will remain anonymous and could receive a cash reward of up to $1,000.
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Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
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Comments
If only we could garner as much attention when a child is lost legitimately as when it's for a reality show.
Light and love for Somer and her family.
I called the Sheriff's office in Clay County and they said, "An announcement will be made on the news when it's time." Good thing they aren't in a hurry.
If you're in Jacksonville and would like a ride when the search begins, please email me privately.
Good job, Jodi. Off to Digg it to help get more exposure.
Light and love to Somer and her family.
great reporting!
What everyone else said!
I will hold this in my heart and send light and love to all involved!
Too many sad stories!
I just came from Mr Mustard's story of Winky. Weird synchronistic pairing!
Poor little girl!!!!!!!!
Hooray for you, Jodie, using your blog space for this purpose.
Thank you to everyone who is taking the time to look at Somer's photograph. She is here in the world somewhere and I'm hoping so hard that we can find her.
It has been almost 24 hours since she disappeared. She could now be almost anywhere in the eastern U.S. If you live in Jacksonville or the surrounding areas, visit your neighbors, look in passing cars and watch at visitor's centers, gas stations and rest areas.
At this exact time yesterday, Somer was walking home with her brother, alive, well and happy.
My heart absolutely breaks for this little girl and her family. Nationally, they aren't really talking about it, but our Navy boys are out here in force leaving no stone unturned looking for this baby. I'm so proud of them.
If she's hiding somewhere, I know our sailors can find her.
At this point, it's highly unlikely that she's run off or hiding. Some animal has taken this child. The helpless rage I feel about that happening eight miles from where my children walk home from school to their father's house makes me want to beat the hell out of whoever did this.
I hope the coward loses their nerve and drops her off at a restaurant somewhere. That's the best we can hope for right now. There's nothing else to do but pray harder.
The body of a small child has been found in a landfill in Folkston, Georgia. It is being assumed that it is the body of Somer Thompson by the media here in Jacksonville. My thoughts and prayers are with Somer's family.
I'm going to go hug my kids now.
This is a terrible outcome. My heart goes out to the Somers and to your whole community.
I want to go to her and hug her.
What a horrible, horrible day for our city.
Even if it's not Somer, it's somebody else's child. I hate that we live in a world where this happens.
There have always been children who are stolen, used and then thrown in the trash. There always will be.
No God or Goddess is present in that moment - only the ugliest of humanity.
I stand with the other hundreds of thousands of people in my city who send love and support. I am proud of our city in the face of this horrific tragedy. The support for this family has been enormous.
We are the majority of humanity. The monsters are few - but we will find them.
Bless her little heart.
My head hopes it isn't her.
My heart goes out to your community, and to the family of this innocent little girl. The person who did this should be found and made to suffer.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091022/ap_on_re_us/us_missing_child
I hope the good people of Jacksonville find this sonofabitch. How could anyone do that to a child?
I gotta say this too, that sheriff disappoints the hell out of me. He CALLED THE PARENTS to let them know. How the hell does something like that warrant a PHONE CALL? Someone should have gone to the house, told them in person, made sure they had someone there.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family.
I don't know why the sheriff would have called them. They've been camped in that family's front yard since Somer went missing. The Amber alert was delayed until the morning after she went missing, so some folks around here are unhappy about that as well.
Overall, I think they are doing the best that they can with a bad situation. The problem is, we have absolutely no clue who did this to that little girl. The sheriff has said that they have no suspects and no idea how she died yet.
Monday morning my kids go back to that side of the river where a killer lives who will dump a baby in the trash after doing God knows what to her. I am livid. I want to tear their head off with my bare hands.