SOMER RENEE THOMPSON - 7 yo (2009) - Clay County FL

The Clay County Sheriff's Office has released two images of items
that might have been in 7-year-old Somer Thompson's possession when she
was abducted Oct. 19.

A pink tote bag and a lunchbox with a pink pig design haven't been recovered by investigators.

The items were flashed across television screens when they ran on an
episode of "America's Most Wanted" that aired Saturday night.

Witnesses believe Somer had the items when she was walking home from school on
Gano Avenue in Orange Park. Her body was found in a Georgia landfill
two days after she was reported missing. The items could provide evidence in finding whoever killed her.

The nights are the worst. Diena Thompson's mind races. She struggles to fall asleep and wakes up confused. It takes a moment for reality to hit again.
"I keep thinking that she's going to come in and this is just a
nightmare and I'm going to wake up," Thompson said in an interview with
"Good Morning America" in the living room of her home Friday. "And
she's just been at somebody's house spending the night."
But her daughter Somer is not coming home.
Three weeks ago Monday the 7-year-old was walking home from
school with her older sister Abby and twin brother Samuel. Her mother
was at work. And as usual, the children were to walk home together.
Friends' parents would keep an eye on them.
"I know that Samuel had lagged behind talking to a friend," Diena
Thompson told "GMA." "And Abby and Somer were together and that -- I'm
not sure what happened. Somer got teased a lot. ... She ran ahead, and
Abby just figured she'd catch up with her. And when she got to the
second crossing guard Somer wasn't there."
Somer was last seen in front of a vacant house on a block she walked every day. Investigators found her body
in a Georgia landfill two days later. Thompson does not know exactly
how her daughter died. It was recommended that she not view the body.
Her grief is immeasurable. She is anxious and guilt-ridden. But she is
speaking out now, at the three-week mark, because she wants the killer
put on notice that they are still hunting, and she wants other parents
to hear her words.
To date, investigators at the Clay County Sheriffs department
in Jacksonville say they have pursued more than 3,000 leads. But still
no arrests.
Over the weekend, authorities released sketches of two items
that Somer had with her on the day she disappeared, which have never
been recovered.

Police ask anyone who has seen the tote bag or zippered round lunch pail to call their tip line at (877) 227-6911.

Friends of Thompson have also established a Web site, www.rememberingsomer.com,
which is devoted to Somer's memory and the investigation.
"There's been amazing outpouring of support," said Thompson's lawyer,
Michael Freed. "There's been a trust created to help Diena raise her
surviving children in as normal a way as she can. And of course,
there's opportunities to increase the reward which hopefully will be
helpful as well. And, as Diena said, that really means a lot to her and
to the family," he said.
"I can't imagine them not catching him," Thompson said. "That's
my scariest ... I feel like there's a piece of broken glass in front of
me. And I've got all the pieces to the broken glass except for this
one, huge piece and that's to catch the monster who did this."




Thompson described Somer as a beautiful 7-year-old who always wanted to help, wanted to make people feel better.
"She just always wanted everybody to be happy with her. ... So sweet.
Hugged everybody," she said. Somer routinely hugged the crossing guards
she met on her route home from school.
The hard question Diena Thompson is now asking herself is
whether someone might have taken advantage of that kindness.
Investigators asked her if she thought Somer might willingly get into a
car with a stranger.
"And to hear the word 'yes' come out of my mouth cut me," Thompson said.
Because there have been no arrests and the sheriffs department
has not shared any concrete leads, Thompson worries that the killer may
still be in the community.
"I've thought, 'Please don't let it be one of these people
that's come around and hugged me and said how sorry they were.' I've
thought, 'I wonder -- when we were doing the candlelight vigils if --
if he was out there," she said.
And if it turns out to be someone she knew?
"God have mercy on their soul. And they better be lucky that the
Clay County Sheriff's Office is gonna get to 'em before I can."

It is a struggle to balance that anger with a mother's need to stay
strong for her remaining children. Thompson said the ordeal has been
especially hard on Somer's twin, Samuel.
They used to play in the pool together and race each other to see who could stay underwater the longest.
"We used to nickname her 'Grace' because she couldn't really walk and chew bubblegum at the same time," Thompson said of Somer.
She loved to dance, but she had no rhythm, Thompson said.
"She was just so wonderful. And you take it for granted. You
never think you're gonna be sitting here," Thompson said. "And you have
a lot of regret because you may have been too busy. And you weren't
really busy. You were just too busy in your head. And I'll have to live
with that, and that's hard."
She said she would tell other parents to be sure and tell their children they love them every day.

"It don't take but a couple seconds. And when you think you're too
busy, really think about what you're saying you're too busy for.
Because you don't want to live with this. That's what I regret. It's
hard to live with regret and guilt," she said.
Diena understands acutely that the world's attention will move
on. The flowers in her home are beginning to fade. The vigils that used
to occur nightly have grown more infrequent.
But she is determined to continue the fight for justice.
"I know I'm not gonna let this monster win. I will be victorious
in the end, and he will pay," she said. "We're gonna get him, and he
will pay. And I hope he's scared."

Visit www.rememberingsomer.com for more information on the reward fund and family relief fund.

Police have asked that if you have any information about this case, contact the Clay County Sheriffs Department in Jacksonville, Fla. at (877) 227 - 6911 or the FBI.

Three weeks ago Wednesday the entire
community was shaken when the body of 7-year-old Somer Thompson was
discovered in a Georgia landfill.Police continue to try to find
out who kidnapped and killed her, having received more than 3,000 tips.
Somer's mom, Diena Thompson, is trying to help investigators find her
daughter's killer by bringing as much attention as possible to her
family's nightmare.But Diena has recently become the target of hate mail and hate calls.The
distressed mother told Dr. Phil in a taped interview that someone told
her it's her fault Somer was killed. Diena will appear on the Dr. Phil
show Thursday."I got from a fellow here in Florida that said I
should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for child abuse
and child neglect for letting her walk," Diena said.She said she also got a letter suggesting if she hadn't let her daughter walk home from school she'd be alive."I've gotten terrible phone calls that I need psychological treatment," Diena said.Somer was walking home from Grove Park Elementary School when she disappeared."I'm just a single mom just trying to do the right thing," Diena said. "I do feel guilty. I don't know what else to say."She
said she is now trying to just survive, being lifted by the
overwhelming support of the community and devastated by hateful words
from people who've never even met her."I feel like a robot,"
Diena said. "I just get up and do what I have to do, but I can't let
them win. I just have to stay strong and maybe be a voice for other
children who've ended up like this or who could possibly end up like
this."

As with any high-profile case, the intense search for a killer in
the slaying of 7-year-old Somer Thompson has generated rumors and
speculation that can be costly and a frustrating distraction to
investigators.Once, after a swirl of suspicions about a blue
Nissan’s possible connection to the case were found to be untrue, calls
about the vehicle continued in the Clay County case, Sheriff Rick
Beseler said.“We got 79 additional tips about the blue Nissan after we already said we were not looking for it,” he said.Other
false alarms included a connection to a sex offender arrested in
Georgia and suspicions generated by mistakes in a police report.“You spend a lot of time and energy chasing leads when you have completely eliminated them,” Beseler said.Rumors,
often magnified by bloggers who become attracted to crime cases,
usually steal valuable time that could be spent in the field, said
Bruce Herring, director of the Institute of Police Technology and
Management, which contracts with the University of North Florida and
provides law enforcement agencies with instruction.“Most of it is negative,” he said of the impact.Not always, though. Perpetrators as well as the curious read those entries, he said.“Tidbits come that lead to a bad guy once in a while,” Herring said.That means it can be risky to ignore tips.And high levels of exposure keep the public’s attention focused on the case
A flood of calls
Roughly 3,375 tips have poured into the Clay County Sheriff’s Office since the
Orange Park girl disappeared Oct. 19 as she was going home from Grove
Park Elementary School. The first-grader’s body was found two days
later in a Georgia landfill.No arrests have been made.The
report of the blue Nissan, which had been linked to an apparent
abduction attempt of a 5-year-old girl a little more than a week before
Somer disappeared, drew wide interest. A woman who believed she foiled
the kidnapping was part of a Sheriff’s Office news briefing where she
recounted helping the crying girl who said she was being lured into the
vehicle.The suspicions were dismissed when detectives later
learned the Nissan was being driven by an officer with the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement who stopped after thinking the girl had
nearly been struck by a car.But the calls didn’t stop and Beseler worries the confusion could lead to something being missed.“Potentially
someone could have real information and say, 'Oh, they are not looking
for a black van; they are looking for a blue Nissan,’ ” he said.
Quashing rumors
In another case that has gripped Northeast Florida, investigators decided
to ignore rumors they knew were untrue, but found it important to
quickly quash the fast-growing ones.The Putnam County
disappearance of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings in February generated wild
speculation, including a claim that her body had been found. Lt. Johnny
Greenwood of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said that allowing that
to go unaddressed would have been irresponsible.“We had to respond,” Greenwood said in an e-mail.Haleigh, whose sixth birthday was in August, remains missing.In the Clay County case, a mistake on a police report set off one wave of suspicion.The
day Somer disappeared, a deputy who was among those who responded to
the missing girl’s home was called away to an unrelated armed robbery.
He arrived at the second scene and caught four suspects, Beseler said.
When the officer wrote the report, he forgot to change the address on
the call, resulting in armed robbery arrests mistakenly tied to the
Thompson home.“The public sees that and goes ballistic,” Beseler
said. “People on blogs and all over the country were writing all these
theories. We worked and tried to put that rumor out for several days.”The
nature of the case has also meant attention has been focused on sex
offenders. One of those men, who worked on a renovation crew months
earlier at a house near where Somer was last seen as she walked home,
has been interviewed. Another, whose name was on the initial police
report after a woman thought she spotted him near Orange Park, was in
Texas. When he discovered he had incorrectly been mentioned in the
case, he nervously went to authorities there to say he was not near
Florida.
Arrest in Georgia
Speculation has come from other places as well.When
Georgia authorities arrested a sex offender from Florida who had moved
to Albany, they notified the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.In the
Oct. 26 arrest, the man — whose crimes in Florida were in Hillsborough
County — was charged with attempting to entice a child. Beseler said
the man is not a suspect in the Somer case.Herring, who has
worked on other high-profile cases, said as cases drag on the potential
grows for investigators and the agency to be accused of being inept or
covering something up.“Early on, you have a whole lot of public opinion in your favor,” he said. That support can disappear later.“The public starts to get impatient,” he said.Last week, a crisis-management team within the department began offering services to employees who may feel overwhelmed.“I’m still optimistic — very optimistic — we are going to solve this case,” Beseler said. “Will it be in a couple of days? No.”

Friends of Somer Thompson and her family want to keep her memory alive, while protecting other children from going missing.
She disappeared on her walk home to school in Florida last month.
Police later found the seven-year-old's body in a Georgia landfill.
Her father, Sam Thompson lives in Graham.
This weekend, two events are being held in Somer's memory.
A memorial service is planned tomorrow in Graham.
Sam Thompson said it will show how important his daughter was to everyone.
Another event scheduled for Sunday is aimed at preventing other children from disappearing.

Members of the band "Something Wicked" said they're planning something good.

"Child safety is the upmost important thing that we can provide to our children," said Todd Davis.

The issue hit home for the bass guitarist. He was childhood friends with Sam Thompson.
"With me going to school with Sammy and my son going to school with
his daughter, Sommer, it's just like me losing a kid. I just figured
this was the best way I could do to help a friend out," Davis said.

The event at the Fat Frogg Elon will raise money for Thompson, and awareness for child safety.

Law enforcement will be at the event to provide information to parents and kids.

"Of course, we're always trying to impose on children that you don't
talk to strangers," said Lavell Lovette, Elon Police Chief.

Thompson said Somer knew that rule.
"Kids have love in their heart," he said. "It doesn't take but a
second to take their mind off of what they've been taught," Thompson
said.

"We teach the parents that the kids need to know their names, their address, their parents' names," Lovette said.

She said parents should have their children fingerprinted, which she
said unfortunately usually is only used for identifying a body. She
said the prints can be done at a police station.
Or, she said, parents can have their kids put their hands on a piece
of paper, which parents should then fold and put in an envelope with a
picture of the child.
Davis said Somer's case has influenced his own parenting skills.

"I seem to love a little bit more on my children and I've played with
them a little bit longer and tried to keep them up a little bit later
and I've also went on the Internet and looked at a bunch of safety tips
and stuff," he said.

"I pray that God surrounds all of our children with angels and protects them from these predators," Thompson said.

Thompson said he appreciates the events in memory of his daughter.
Without the support, he said the pain of losing Somer would be too much to bear.

The memorial takes place Saturday at Riverside Baptist Church. It's
located at 1568 East Harden St. in Graham. It is scheduled from 3 p.m.
to 4 p.m. It's open to the entire community.
Organizers ask everyone to wear purple, which was Somer's favorite color.
"Let's give Somer the best sendoff any child could ever have," he said.

On Sunday, starting at 2 p.m. the child safety event will be held at
the Fat Frogg Bar and Grill located at 2009 Timberline Station Drive off of West Haggard Ave. in Elon.
It will last until about 8 p.m. The event is geared toward families and will include bands and food.
Davis said a percentage of the proceeds will go to children's charity, but the details are not finalized yet.

Friends and
family of a murdered child gathered at Riverside Baptist Church in
Graham Saturday, Nov. 14 to remember her life.

Seven-year-old Somer Thompson disappeared one month ago while walking
home from school in Florida. Her body was later found in a Georgia
landfill.

Close to 100 showed up, and most in attendance wore purple clothes or
ribbons -- it was Somer Thompson's favorite color -- and sang her
favorite song, called "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus.

Somer Thompson's father Sammy said that his 7-year-old, Somer's twin, has lost the most.

"He cries himself to sleep at night. And I guess we pretty much all cry ourselves to sleep right now." Sammy Thompson said.

The family is leaning on friends and family for support. Pastor Bob
Stephenson held the memorial service at his church in Graham for family
and friends who couldn't make a memorial service in Florida. Somer's
grandparents attend the church.

"It's been terrible. You can't imagine the horror of losing a child,
especially under the circumstances with all of the unknowns, but
they've been strong." Stephenson said.

Sammy Thompson said that closure will be difficult, but he is confident that police will arrest her killer.

Sunday in Orange Park was Somer's day.
A day where musicians performed on stage and kept the spotlight on the issue threatening their community.
"I traveled all over the country playing my music and I came home to
raise my children because this is a safe place and we got to keep it
that way," says local musician Will Sabo.
Sabo founded the group "Rockers Against Sexual Predators", RASP, the
day after Somer Thompson's body was found and he immediately had more
than a hundred members.
"It's our job, not just as parents but as a community to keep our children safe and taken care of," says Sabo.
Sabo brought ten bands to the stage for a Somer's Day concert Sunday
at the Orange Park Town Hall and they joined with a wide mix of other
groups at the event.
There were organizations giving away child I.D. kits and self defense classes.
With new partnerships like RASP, and a new focus on keeping kids
safe, this community plans to stop what happened here from ever
returning.
"We want our kids safe, we want everyone safe, we want our communities back," says Sabo.
All the money raised at the event will go to the Thompson family,
some will be used toward the reward for information in the case.
The tipline to give information in the Somer Thompson case is 1-877-227-6911 or email cart@claysheriff.com.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday they have received 4,200 leads in the abduction and murder of Somer Thompson. The
7-year-old disappeared on her way home from school in Orange Park
October 19. Her body was discovered in a Georgia landfill 50 miles
away, where trash from her neighborhood was dumped. The Clay
County Sheriff’s Office says agents from the FBI, FDLE, U.S. Marshal
Service, and NCIS are continuing to help in the investigation with
agents assigned to the team. We have now received 4,200 leads
and detective teams continue working to follow up on all remaining
workable tips. We remain hopeful that Investigators say evidence
is still being processed at a lab. "Waiting on lab results is part of
this process," said Sheriff Rick Beseler in a written release. "The
results can take weeks to return and cannot be rushed or hurried
because this is information that will point us in the right direction
and tell us where to go." There is a $45,000 reward for information leading to the killer through First Coast Crime Stoppers.

A motorcycle ride will be held Saturday to benefit Somer Thompson's family and try to set a world record for the largest such poker run against sexual predators.The
run will begin at 10:30 a.m. at The Bayard Rooster, 12661 Phillips
Highway, Jacksonville, and end at Whitey's Fish Camp on County Road 220
on Fleming Island.Bands Big Engine, Malice, Southbound, Thermal
Image and Big Baby are scheduled to perform at Whitey's beginning at
noon; the Jacksonville Jaguars cheerleaders, The Roar, will host a a
candlelight vigil at 7 p.m.For more information and to register for the run, go to https://sites.google.com/site/somersride or call organizer Laura Evans at (904) 683-6372.

The reward for information leading to
an arrest and conviction in the case of a slain Orange Park girl whose
body was found in a Georgia landfill has risen to $64,000.Two
nonprofit organizations, the Jacksonville-based Justice Coalition and
CrimeStoppers, are offering rewards of $48,000 and $16,000,
respectively, for information in the homicide of Somer Thompson.The
7-year-old girl vanished in late October as she was walking home from
school in her northeast Florida community. Her body was found in a
landfill some 50 miles away.


No one has been
charged in her death, and authorities said last week they were
processing evidence and shifting through 4,200 tips in the case.

Jaime Rathje said she feels chills walking her kids home from school along Gano Avenue where Somer Thompson vanished six weeks ago.Walking
his dog on the same two-block stretch, Will Dodson often wonders who
snatched Somer without anyone seeing or hearing anything. Keri Smith is
equally troubled as she keeps a protective eye on her children next
door to a Gano Avenue home scoured by police for clues.As the
unsolved slaying grows colder, people who live in the neighborhood
where Somer was last seen remain haunted by her disappearance and death.“Everybody
eyes each other with suspicion now, wondering, 'Are you looking at me?
Are you looking at my kids?’ ” said Smith, 36, a mother of two.Investigators
have plowed through 4,300 tips since Somer disappeared Oct. 19, but
little progress has been reported. They hold out hope that lab results
from evidence taken off her body at a Georgia landfill will offer some
clue to her killer.There are still a few reminders of Somer
along the two-lane road from Solomon Street, where she ran from her
siblings while walking home from school, to Grove Park Drive two blocks
away.A First Coast Crime Stoppers sign sits outside the Orange
Park Athletic Association. One of thousands of fliers posted when Somer
disappeared remains attached to a telephone pole.Rathje, 30, fears for the safety of her two children who attend Grove Park Elementary School, where Somer was a first-grader.“They have to be with me, in front of me,” said Rathje as she walked her kids home from school.Dodson
said the one change he’s noticed is that most schoolchildren no longer
walk unescorted in the area. For that he is thankful.“There’s not a day that goes by that you don’t think about that poor little girl,” said Dodson, 57.Crossing
guard Jim Woolsey, 69, recalls getting hugs from Somer at his post at
Grove Park Drive and Gano Avenue. Woolsey said he didn’t find it
unusual when he saw Somer’s siblings, but not her, the day she
disappeared. Now he doesn’t hesitate to ask if a child is missing.“If
I know brothers or sisters and there’s not the brother or sister there,
I ask whoever is here, 'Where’s your brother? Where’s your sister?
What’s going on?’ ” Woolsey said.
Brandi Watson, 33, said she looks
over her shoulder more often now while walking to the elementary school
to pick up her three sons.“Just knowing that it could be anybody
that looks like me or you ... makes me want to be more prepared,”
Watson said. “If somebody tries to snatch my kid, I’m going to jump on
them.”Gonzalo Floyd, 38, lives across from a large propane tank
where Somer’s siblings said they last saw the little girl. Floyd said
activities in the neighborhood, such as ball games at the athletic
association, have continued. But he said the slaying has also shattered
the sense of security area residents once enjoyed.“Deep down, we all know there’s something wrong,” Floyd said.

Saturday marks two months since the disappearance and murder of a
Jacksonville-area girl. Police still have no suspects in the killing of
Somer Thompson. The second grader disappeared from Clay County
October 19. Her body was later found in a Georgia landfill. Since then,
investigators have received more than 4,000 tips and have continued to
call the case "hot." Community donations have come in to raise
money for a reward fund to find Somer's Killer. That fund is up to more
than $64,000.The Clay County Sheriff's Office is still asking for tips
at (877)227-6911 or CrimeStoppers at (866) 845-TIPS. You can also
e-mail your tips to CART@claysheriff.com

ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- A school social
worker reportedly warned a northeast Florida girl's mother about the
danger of the child walking home from school a year before she was
abducted and killed.
The unidentified worker told the Department of Children and Families
that 7-year-old Somer Thompson and her three siblings got lost at least
once walking from Grove Park Elementary School and were found in woods
with a stranger. But a DCF probe concluded the allegation had no basis.
It also found the girl's mother, Diena Thompson, properly arranged for
her children to be taken to and from school. The 7-year-old
girl vanished in late October as she was walking home from school. Her
body was found in a Georgia landfill about 50 miles away. No one has been charged in her death.

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. -- It's been 3 ½ months since Somer Thompson was killed, and the search for her killer continues.The
7-year-old girl disappeared in October walking home in her Orange Park
neighborhood after school. Her body was found two days later in a
Georgia landfill.Are investigators any closer now to finding her
killer? Somer went missing Oct. 19, the day a neighborhood and deputies began their search for the girl.Deputies arrived to help find her, and neighbors grabbed their flashlights and started looking, too.On a school night and a cold night, it was too late for a young girl like Somer to be outside for long."We're leaving no stone unturned," Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said at the time. Somer's photo was released and she was described as a happy, friendly girl who would never run away.Time seemed to be working against investigators. The longer she was gone, the less likely she was safe.The next day, there was still no sign of Somer.Hours
turned into into days. Hundreds of searchers continued to look, handing
out fliers to everyone in sight, hoping someone had seen Somer.Two days later, Somer's body was found."It
is with deep regret and sadness that I have to inform you that a body
has been found in the landfill in Folkston, Ga.," Beseler said then.It
wasn't right away that it was confirmed the body was that of Somer,
found miles from the neighborhood where she thought she was safe. For
days, investigators would comb through the trash surrounding Somer's
body collecting evidence.The evidence found on Somer's body will likely provide the best clues pointing to her killer.That evidence, including DNA evidence, is due back from a lab soon.Why is it taking so long? Investigators said it involves petri dish cultures that can't be rushed.Nearly 4,500 leads have been called in so far, and all have been followed up on.The
information is being collected in a room inside the Clay County
Sheriff's Office. Fifteen detectives who've become known as Team Somer
are working on the case.Beseler hasn't talked to the media about
the investigation. A spokesperson said that's because FBI profilers
have told them the killer is watching the news, and anything anyone
says could give Somer's killer a clue about what investigators are
doing and what they know.A house on Gano Avenue was the subject
of an intense search in the days after Somer's body was found. Police
said the 7-year-old was last seen standing on the sidewalk in front of
the home, three blocks from her school. It was vacant at the time and
under construction.The owner of the house had never talked to
the media about the police search there until recently in an e-mail.
She said, "I do not know more than any other citizen, but I do know
that when police returned it to me, there was no blood or sign of any
kind of struggle inside the house or in the yard, which is why I
believe the crime against Somer happened somewhere else."As for
the construction workers who watched children like Somer walk by the
house day after day, the contractor said in a phone interview that he
was the only person with a key to the house and that it was locked up
the night Somer vanished.Here's what he told us- right after he was interviewed three months ago."They
wanted to know what had happened that day step by step," said
contractor James Vinson of Vinson Design and Build. "They took a swab
test from me and from my helper."Vinson said detectives have
called him a couple of times with questions since then, but there has
been no formal interview since Somer's body was found.What about the Dumpster where the sheriff said Somer's body was abandoned. Where was it?Fifteen
different companies that pick up waste in Clay County, said they were
contacted by detectives asking for the same two things -- the names and
contact information for their drivers and the routes their trucks took
on one specific day -- Tuesday -- the day after Somer disappeared.It suggests that Somer died within hours of being taken, and her body was hauled away in the Tuesday trash pickup.The
Rosemary Hill Transfer Station north of Green Cove Springs is where the
Dumpster containing Somer's body would have been emptied and then
eventually placed in an 18-wheeler driven to the Chesser Landfill in
Folkston, Ga. where she was discovered.A manager with the landfill said detectives have not been back since their initial investigation.At
Somer's school, Grove Park Elementary, some parents are still walking
their children home and keeping all the children in one group, still
scared after what happened to Somer."We still don't let the kids play outside," one resident said. "We still don't let them walk to and from school.""There's
lots of kids in the neighborhood and we felt like it was OK, and they
still don't understand why they can't go outside," another resident
said. "We tell them that there's bad people out there and bad things
happen to good people."Good people, like Somer's mom, Diena
Thompson, shared pictures of her daughter never before seen of when
Somer was a baby, eating birthday cake, playing as a toddler and
growing.Each year that passed, Somer's mother said her daughter looked more and more like her.A memorial outside Somer's home still stands, albeit smaller.Diena
said Mondays are the worst days for her because it's the day of the
week her daughter vanished. She said it's still too painful to visit
her grave site.And the song that brought many in the community
to tears, sung every night of each vigil, "You Are My Sunshine," still
rings in Diena's ears.Somer's twin brother now has a music box with the melody that he plays over and over.While the words still bring Diena to tears, she said singing them makes her feel like Somer is standing right beside her.It
hasn't gotten any less painful for Diena. She counts every day since
her daughter was killed. Thursday marked day 110 since she kissed her
daughter goodbye and sent her off to school.Her focus now is still the same as it was on day three: Justice for Somer.If
you know anything that could help investigators find Somer's killer,
you're asked to call the Clay County tip line at 877-227-6911 or Crime
Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS. You can also send an e-mail to
cart@claysheriff.com.

ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- Authorities have served a search warrant in the case of a northeast Florida girl whose body was found in a landfill.

Clay County officials haven't said why a home just west of where Somer Thompson was last seen is being searched.

A news conference is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The 7-year-old girl vanished in late October as she was walking home from school. Her body was found in a landfill some 50 miles away.

No one has been charged in her death. Authorities have said they've been sifting through thousands of tips in the case.

ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- A search warrant was issued Thursday afternoon on a vacant house in the 1100 block of Gano Avenue near where Somer Thompson was last seen before she disappeared and was found killed in October.
The 7-year-old's body was discovered three days later at a Georgia landfill.
Clay County deputies and the FBI are currently searching the home. Investigators were seen wearing moon suits, entering the house and collecting evidence.
Investigators have asked JEA to turn the power on in the home to give them light as they continue their search into the night.
It's unclear if any arrests have been made.
Investigators searched a separate, vacant home about a block away in the days after Somer's body was found. They collected evidence from the home and have been waiting for lab results to return.
Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler will issue a statement at 7 p.m. from Orange Park.
The family of Somer Thompson released a statement saying, "At this time, Diena Thompson (Somer's mother) and her family are monitoring the latest developments in the investigation into the abduction and murder of Somer Thompson. However, Diena is not prepared to speak publicly on the matter and asks that you please respect her and her family’s privacy as they continue to process events as they unfold. In the near future, Diena will address the media on the latest developments in the case."
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said a 24-year-old man has been arrested on child pornography charges and been named a person of interest in the Somer Thompson case.
Beseler said the man has been charged with 29 counts of possession of child pornography and was arrested in Mississippi.
On Thursday afternoon, a search warrant was issued on a vacant house in the 1100 block of Gano Avenue near where Somer Thompson was last seen before she disappeared and was found killed in October.
The 7-year-old's body was discovered three days later at a Georgia landfill.
Clay County deputies and the FBI are currently searching the home. Investigators were seen wearing moon suits, entering the house and collecting evidence.
Investigators have asked JEA to turn the power on in the home to give them light as they continue their search into the night.
It's unclear if any arrests have been made.
Investigators searched a separate, vacant home about a block away in the days after Somer's body was found. They collected evidence from the home and have been waiting for lab results to return.
Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler will issue a statement at 7 p.m. from Orange Park.
The family of Somer Thompson released a statement saying, "At this time, Diena Thompson (Somer's mother) and her family are monitoring the latest developments in the investigation into the abduction and murder of Somer Thompson. However, Diena is not prepared to speak publicly on the matter and asks that you please respect her and her family’s privacy as they continue to process events as they unfold. In the near future, Diena will address the media on the latest developments in the case."

Person Of Interest Taken Into Custody In Somer Thompson Case
ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- In a 7:00pm press conference, the sheriff’s office announced that a person
of interest was taken into custody in the Somer Thompson case.A
suspect, Jarrod Harrell 24, has been arrested on charged 29 counts of
child pornography. Herol, officers say, use to live in the home that
was searched on Gano Avenue.Authorities served a search warrant
Thursday in the case of a northeast Florida girl whose body was found
in a landfill after she vanished on her way home from school.Clay
County officials didn't immediately announce why a home just west of
where Somer Thompson was last seen was being searched, but deputies and
an FBI forensics team were seen searching its front yard with rakes and
shovels. The 7-year-old girl vanished Oct. 19 as she was walking
home from school sparking a search that lasted for several days.
Investigators sorted through more than 225 tons of garbage at a
landfill some 50 miles away, across the state line in Georgia, before
their worst fears were realized: Sticking out of the rubbish were a
child's lifeless legs.Authorities have checked into thousands of
tips in the case in the nearly four months since, but no one has been
charged in the killing. The girl's mother, Diena Thompson, said she
didn't want to get her hopes up that a break had been made in the case."I'm
not speculating on anything. I don't want to get my hopes up and I
don't want to get my hopes down," she told reporters.
"I'm going to put my faith in God."

ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- A man arrested in Mississippi on child pornography charges has been named as a "person of interest" in the slaying of a 7-year-old Florida girl who disappeared on her way home from school last fall.

Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said Thursday that Jarred Harrell, 24, was arrested in Meridian, Mississippi.

Officers executed a search warrant at a home on Gano Avenue. Authorities were searching that house Thursday. Harrell lived in the home near Somer Thompson's house.

Officials also said Harrell was arrested on a charges unrelated to the Somer Thompson case. He was arrested on 29 counts of possession of child pornography.

Somer disappeared Oct. 19 as she walked home from school in Orange Park. Her body was found two days later in a Georgia landfill.

Investigators have refused to reveal how Somer died. During the four-month investigation, authorities said they pursued thousands of leads.

Jarred Harrell is being held on a $1 Million bond.

Police: Man Is Person Of Interest In Thompson Case

Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said a man
arrested Thursday evening on child pornography charges is also a person
of interest in the slaying of 7-year-old Somer Thompson.Police
said Jarred Harrell, 24, was arrested by federal agents in Meridian,
Miss., on 29 counts of possession of child pornography. Police said he
is also a person of interest in Somer's disappearance and death."Investigators
from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and FDLE conducted a
search for evidence in which a suspect has been arrested for 29 counts
of possession of child pornography that occurred in Clay County
recently," Beseler said.

Jarred Harrell, 24

Harrell is being held on $1 million bond on the child pornography charges.
Beseler made no further comment as to how Harrell is connected with the
Thompson case."I cannot comment further about how Harrell may be connected to the
Thompson case, as that would require I comment on evidence in an
ongoing investigation," Beseler said. "Throughout this entire
investigation we have been very careful to protect the integrity of our
investigation by not releasing details that could be detrimental to the
successful outcome or prosecution of the person responsible for this
crime."

ORANGE PARK - A former Clay County man arrested today in Mississippi
on child pornography charges was named tonight by Sheriff Rick Beseler
as a person of interest in the Oct. 19 disappearance and slaying of
7-year-old Somer Thompson. Beseler said Jarred Mitchell Harrell,
24, is being held on $1 million bond in a Meredian, Miss., jail after
being arrested by federal agents on 29 counts of child pornography,
crimes that Beseler said occurred while Harrell lived in Clay County. A
Middleburg couple who said they've known Harrell and his family for the
past seven years, said he was spending at least some time alone in his
mother's home at 1152 Gano Ave. at the time of Somer's disappearance. The
home, which is a block from where Somer was last seen and along her
route home from Grove Park Elementary School, was searched today by
Clay deputies and FBI agents. Authorities also served related search
warrants at homes in Callahan and Mississippi, as well as a car in
Mississippi, Beseler said. The Middleburg couple, Rod and Lisa
Buchanan, said Harrell had previously been living with Lisa's daughter
in an apartment on Wells Road. But the mother said Harrell was kicked
out in August for stealing an IPOD She said her daughter then found
child pornography, with girls as young as 6, on a computer and computer
discs Harrell left behind. Harrell's arrest docket provides graphic
details of those images and movies. The Buchanans said they went
with their daughter to turn over the materials to police in
August, processing was not finished until after Somer's death,
authorities said. The Buchanan's said they spotted Harrell's
vehicle outside his mother's home a few days after Somer's body was
found and alerted police to their concerns him. The couple said
Harrell's mother and stepfather moved out of the home about two weeks
before Somer's disappearance. The Buchanan's said they were
further questioned about Harrell's living at the home after being told
by police that he told investigators in the porn case that he
was living in Fleming Island. They said police became extremely
interested after learning Harrell had been spending time at his
parent's otherwise vacant home. After learning of Harrell's arrest and possible link in Somer's case, the Buchanans said they were stunned. "It makes you sick," Lisa Buchanan said. It's
unclear when Harrell became a person of interest in Somer's slaying.
Police have said they have been recently been receiving a steady stream
of laboratory tests of DNA and other evidence collected from where her
body was found in a Folkston landfill. Sheriff Rick Beseler declined to
comment Thursday on what links investigators may have between Harrell
and Somer. Clay County investigators and FBI agents continued
their search tonight of the unoccupied Gano Avenue house in the block
just west of where Beseler said Somer was last seen. It's unclear if
the searches were still going on in Callahan and Mississippi, where
deputies said Harrell moved a short time ago to live with relatives. Beseler
refused to take any questions from reporters after reading a prepared
statement that named Harrell as a person of interest. Clay County
investigators and local FBI agents are in Mississippi awaiting word on
whether Harrell plans to fight extradition.
The
single-story brick house on Gano Avenue was empty when police arrived.
Records obtained by the Times-Union show the listed property owner,
General L. Dailey, Harrell's stepfather, moved out of the home late
last year. Dailey, 66, owned the house since 1996, according to Clay
County property appraiser records. Neighbors said they knew little
about those who lived in the home.
After being
told of the search in the Gano Avenue home, Diena Thompson, Somer's
mother, told the Times-Union she supports whatever work authorities can
do to bring Somer's killer to justice.
"I'm
not speculating on anything. I don't want to get my hopes up and I
don't want to get my hopes down," Thompson, 35, said of the
search. "I'm going to put my faith in God and hope the Clay County
Sheriff's Office does what they're good at."
In
the days after Somer disappeared, investigators, including the same FBI
forensics team on-hand today, initially focused on a home under
renovation at 1080 Gano Ave. Investigators searched a Dumpster on that
property and also gathered evidence from inside the home, which had
been damaged in a fire and has not been reoccupied.
Today's
police activity occurred as a number of students were walking home from
Somer’s school on the route she usually took. The search drew several
curious neighbors from their homes.
“Does this have anything to do with the little girl?” asked Joey Smith, 24, who lives about a block away.
Lisa
Gainers, who lives near the home, said she hopes police will be able to
learn more about Somer's disappearance and death from their search.
"If they find something pertaining to Somer, that's good," said Gainers, 49.

Feb. 12, 2010 —



Diena Thompson, mother of murdered 7-year-old Somer Thompson, said she wants her daughter's killer "to die."
"Why? Give me your best excuse, your best reason as to why you had to
do this," Thompson told ABC News in an exclusive interview that aired
today on "Good Morning America." "I want them to die. I want them to
get the death penalty. I have to be the voice for Somer."
The emotional interview took place just days before police
named a former neighbor of the Thompson's a person of interest in the
girl's death on Thursday. Jarred Harrell, 24, was arrested on 29
unrelated charges of possession of child pornography.
"We are also naming Harrell a person of interest in connection
with the abduction and murder of Somer Thompson," Florida's Clay County
Sheriff Rick Beseler said Thursday. Beseler would not comment further
on Harrell's connection to Thompson, "as that would require I comment
on evidence in an ongoing investigation," he said.
The term "person of interest" has no legal ramifications and
police have not named Harrell as a suspect. Harrell's $1 million bond
was likely due to the number of counts filed.
Somer's body was found in a Georgia landfill two days after she
went missing Oct. 19, 2009. The day she disappeared, the little girl
was walking to her Jacksonville, Fla., home from school with her older
sister Abby and twin brother Samuel. Somer was last seen in front of a
vacant house on a block she walked every day.
Despite following up on thousands of leads since Somer's disappearance, police have yet to name a suspect in the case.
Thompson, however, is determined to find her daughter's killer and said she can't wait to meet him or her face to face.
"I feel like it'll give me some more closure because I still
blame myself, you know? What if I did this?" she said. "And instead of
looking in the mirror and blaming myself, I'm going to have a picture
of someone else to blame. I want to see this person's face. I can't
wait to meet him face to face."
Thompson said she wants to know everything about how her daughter died.
"I was there when she was born and I should know, how she left,"
she said. "Because I've built up so many scenarios in my head, that I
honestly don't feel like anything they could tell me could be any worse
than what I've already made up in my head."
Person of Interest Arrested on Unrelated Child Porn Charges


Harrell was arrested "without incident" on 29 unrelated counts of possession of child pornography in Meridian, Miss., police said.
According to arresting documents, a cluster of child pornography
images and video was found on several CDs and a computer Harrell used
when he lived with roommates at a home in Orange Park, Fla., in August.
The computer, which had a filed called "Toddler Insertion," held "a
large amount of child erotica and also child pornography," according to
the documents.
The roommates, who discovered the files, turned the computer
over to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on Aug. 10, two months before
Thompson disappeared.

Diena Thompson: Killer Would Be 'Lucky' To Be Caught By Cops


In early November, Thompson told "Good Morning America" her
daughter's killer would be "lucky" if the cops caught him or her before
she did.
"I can't imagine them not catching him," Thompson said then.
"That's my scariest ... I feel like there's a piece of broken glass in
front of me. And I've got all the pieces to the broken glass except for
this one, huge piece and that's to catch the monster who did this."
Thompson described Somer as a beautiful 7-year-old who always wanted to help, wanted to make people feel better.
"She just always wanted everybody to be happy with her. ... So
sweet. Hugged everybody," she said. Somer routinely hugged the crossing
guards she met on her route home from school.

Thompson worried then that the killer may still be in the community.
"I've thought, 'Please don't let it be one of these people
that's come around and hugged me and said how sorry they were.' I've
thought, 'I wonder -- when we were doing the candlelight vigils if --
if he was out there," she said.
And if it turns out to be someone she knew?
"God have mercy on their soul. And they better be lucky that the
Clay County Sheriff's Office is gonna get to 'em before I can."
Visit www.rememberingsomer.com for more information on the reward fund and family relief fund.
Police have asked that if you have any information about this case, contact the Clay County Sheriffs Department in Jacksonville, Fla. at (877) 227 - 6911 or the FBI.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Rod Buchanan
and his wife are pretty familiar with Jarred Harrell, who was arrested
Thursday and named a person of interest in the Somer Thompson murder
case.In fact, Harrell is a family friend of the Buchanans. Last
August, Harrell was looking for a place to stay and Buchanan's daughter
and her fiancé took him in at their apartment on Wells Road.That lasted a couple of months, and when Harrell moved out, Buchanan's daughter found child pornography on Harrell's computer."They
went up and turned the computer on and saw things that no one should
have to see," Buchanan said. "They found it at like 12 in the morning.
We were at (the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office), when my wife got off of
work at 7 a.m., we were at JSO around 8:30 that morning with the
computer. So it was turned in right away."We took it to JSO
thinking that that's where we needed to take it. And once we handed it
over to JSO, they handed it over to Clay County," Buchanan said.
JSO released a statement Friday regarding the computer that was turned in on Aug. 10, saying:

"The
witness claimed it contained pornographic materials involving children.
A sex crimes detective interviewed the witness. The detective
determined that the residence where the computer was located is outside
of JSO’s jurisdiction. The witness was advised of this, and the
detective notified the appropriate law enforcement agencies, Orange
Park Police and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. The computer was
placed into evidence at JSO, and retrieved by the Clay County Sheriff’s
Office on Thursday, August 13, 2009."

Clay County Sheriff
Rick Beseler also released a statement Friday regarding the timing of
Harrell's arrest on child pornography charges in relation to the Somer
Thompson case:

"Some disturbing commentary has been brought to our attention
regarding the timing of the arrest of Jarred Harrell on child porn
charges, namely, the inference that the Clay County Sheriff’s Office
could have somehow arrested this pornography suspect (Harrell) before
the tragic death of Somer Thompson. As we have said all along, we must
protect the integrity of our investigation to insure arrest and
prosecution is not jeopardized, so not every detail is releasable and
not every question can be answered at this time. However, I have the
upmost confidence in the team working these cases and know – for a fact
– that everything that could be done was done in regards to completing
the Harrell child porn investigation and it was done in a timely manner
and as quickly as the law allows.An investigation into any
allegation of child pornography possession involves far more than
simply establishing that a computer contains the illegal photos or
movies. Detectives must be able to prove how it was acquired, who had
possession and when. This involves the painstaking process of verifying
download times, bank transactions, source of pornography and methods of
payment. All this must then be linked back to a suspect before
obtaining a warrant and making an arrest.To infer that the Harrell child pornography investigation somehow languished is unfair and inaccurate."

Buchanan said he thought that would be the end of it once the computer was turned in to police.After
7-year-old Somer Thompson's body was found in October, Buchanan said he
learned that Harrell had moved back to Gano Avenue, the road where
Somer was last seen, to be with his parents.Buchanan said he was
shocked to learn that Harrell's parents had moved out two weeks before
Somer Thompson was reported missing, but Harrell still lived at the
home.Buchanan and his wife decided to go by that house."And
when we drove by, his vehicle was in the driveway, and it was right
across the street from the athletic field, right where she (Somer) had
to walk every day," Buchanan said.After that, Buchanan said he
went to a Clay County detective and let him know that Harrell was
living in that house on Gano. Buchanan said he also told the detective
about the pornography that they had found a few months earlier and
turned in to police.

ORANGE PARK - Family members of Jarred Harrell,
the person of interest in the murder of 7-year-old Somer Thompson, are
speaking out about the arrest.

They say they can't believe their relative would be capable of murdering anyone.Police arrested Harrell, 24, Thursday in Meridian, Miss. on child pornography charges.

He used to live just blocks away from where the Clay County girl lived.

She was kidnapped last fall while walking home from school, and her body was later found in a Georgia landfill."I
can just tell you that I know him and he is not a child killer by any
means. I mean it's ridiculous to even think about it," said Harrell’s
aunt, Kriss Mizelle.Mizelle says her nephew never showed any signs of violence.

She also says she isn't convinced the child porn found on his computer is his because Harrell shared that computer with others.Harrell is currently being held on $1 million bond.Investigators in Clay County say it could be sometime next week before Harrell is brought back to Florida.