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Somer Thompson - 7 yrs old- Oct. 19- found dead
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gozgals



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 2892
Location: A Place Called Vertigo

PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:10 am    Post subject: Somer Thompson - 7 yrs old- Oct. 19- found dead Reply with quote

This is very sad, another little girl vanishing on the way home from school. We need to find her soon as time is running out. This may be connected to another case where 3 people tried to lure a child on Oct. 10 How many of these little angels are going to go missing.

Fair Use
Florida Authorities Search for Girl, 7, Who Vanished After School
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Foxnews.com's Michelle Maskaly contributed to this report.

Snip

Florida officials expanded their search for a 7-year-old girl who vanished while walking home from school Monday afternoon.

Somer Thompson was released from Grove Park Elementary School in Grove Park, in northern Florida at 2:50 p.m. She was with her twin brother, her 10-year-old sister and friends when she reportedly ran ahead of them after getting into a fight. Her brother and sister said she was not at home when they arrived at 3:05 p.m.

Somer's mother's boyfriend searched up and down the block for her when she didn't come home; her mother called home at 4 p.m. to check on the kids and immediately called authorities.

Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said officers are investigating whether Somer's disappearance is connected to an event that happened in the area on Oct. 10, when three people unsuccessfully tried to lure a 5-year-old girl into a car.

"We want to emphasize while we're taking this into consideration, we are not focusing just on this … we're exploring other areas and angles,” Beseler said.

He said 57 sex offenders have been interviewed within a 3-mile radius, and their homes and yards have been searched. The search was expanded Tuesday to a 5-mile radius, and officials say they will interview 30 more registered sex offenders.

"This is an all-out search," Sgt. Dan Mahla, of the Clay County Sheriff's Department said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. "We are going to keep trying and trying and trying. We have all these resources and we are maximizing them to the max."


Snip

People are encouraged to call the tip line at (877) 227-6911 with any additional information on the child’s whereabouts.


click link for story

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,568636,00.html
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gozgals



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 2892
Location: A Place Called Vertigo

PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:43 am    Post subject: Nancy Grace Transcript Reply with quote

Fair Use
CNN
Nancy Grace

[b]NANCY GRACE

A Florida 7-year-old Disappears on the Way Home From School

Aired October 20, 2009 - 20:00:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, Florida. A beautiful little 2nd-grader, looks like an angel, walks the 10-minute walk home from school with her sister and her twin brother, all their little friends. She gets separated momentarily broad daylight. Seven-year-old Somer Thompson never seen again. Four o`clock, only an hour later, Mom rushes home, flags down police. No good. Now we learn of a kidnap attempt on a little 5- year-old girl also in broad daylight just one week before. Are they connected? It`s only been 24 hours. She could still be alive. But where?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A massive search right now is under way for this little girl. She is from north Florida. She is 7-year-old Somer Thompson. And officials in Clay County are asking everyone to be on the lookout. The 2nd-grader vanished walking home from school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somer`s family is tormented. They have no idea where their little girl is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mom is not doing very well. You know, as each hour goes by, she gets less and less hopeful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Clay County sheriff is asking for information about a blue sedan seen in that neighborhood about 10 days ago. They say that two men and a woman in a car tried to lure a girl near Somer`s elementary school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She told me everything that happened and that they were trying to get in the car and that they said that, Mommy said get in the car, let`s go and I`ll take you home, and she said no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seven-year-old Somer Thompson has been missing now for more than 24 hours, last seen walking home from school.

DEBBIE BOWLING, MISSING 7-YEAR-OLD`S GRANDMOTHER: When you think about this and you think, This can`t be happening to me, this can`t be happening to my family. But it is. And it`s very hard!

(END VIDEO CLIP)



http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0910/20/ng.01.html
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gozgals



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Location: A Place Called Vertigo

PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:52 am    Post subject: AMW Reply with quote

http://www.amw.com/missing_children/case.cfm?id=68853

Search Teams Scour Florida For Signs Of Somer



Somer, 7, was last seen in Orange Park, Fla.

Florida police are searching for 7-year-old Somer Renee Thompson, who disappeared on Oct. 19, 2009.

Somer left school at 2:50 p.m. that Monday, and was walking home from school with her twin brother, her 10-year-old sister, and some friends when she ran ahead of the group, toward her home.

Somer's siblings arrived home safely at about 3:05 p.m. without her and no one has seen her since.

Their mother's friend, Sean Patton, was at the house and asked the children where Somer was and they said she walked off.

Sean and the kids searched for Somer for an hour. when Somer's mother called, Sean told her Somer had not made it home.

She left work immediately and stopped at the Sheriff's Office on the way home to report her daughter missing.

The Clay County, Fla. Sheriff's Office is following up on the 150 leads they had received as of 3 p.m. on Oct. 20, 2009. They had followed up on about 80 of the leads, so far.

Cops say the search for Somer is their primary focus. The effort involves all resources available, including divers, a helicopter and search dogs.

"This is an all-out search," Clay County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Dan Mahla said. "It's go-time for us we're searching anything and everything we can."

On the morning of Oct. 20, 2009, the search expanded, first to a three-mile radius and later to five miles.

Police interviewed 57 sex offenders and sexual predators within a three-mile radius. They have since expanded that search area to a five-mile radius to include 37 more.

Cops say there was an attempted abduction in that area 10 days before, but they say are not sure if the incident is related to Somer's disappearance.

A witness saw a little girl talking to someone in a car, and asked her if she knew the person. The girl said she did not, and that the person had asked her to get in the car.

When the witness turned around, the car was gone. Cops are not focusing on this incident, but simply acknowledge that it occurred.

Cops say Somer is considered an endangered missing child and they do suspect foul play in the case, though they do not currently have a person of interest.

Somer is in the second grade at Grove Park Elementary.

"There's any number of things that could've happened so we're hoping for the best but we're working it as if it were a crime scene right now," Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said at a news conference on Oct. 20, 2009.


"This is an all-out search," Clay County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Dan Mahla said. "It's go-time for us we're searching anything and everything we can."

AMBER Alert: Florida



Cops say Somer disappeared on her way home from school.

An AMBER Alert was issued for 7-year-old Somer Thompson on October 20, 2009. She was last seen in the area of West Gano Avenue and Debarry Avenue in Orange Park, Fla.

She was last seen wearing a black shirt under a cranberry colored sweat suit with pink stripes running down the arms and legs.

She may have her hair in a pony tail with a red bow and may have been wearing a white hat and a white scarf.

She was carrying a purple Hannah Montana backpack and lunchbox.
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gozgals



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 2892
Location: A Place Called Vertigo

PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:55 am    Post subject: Profile/Description Reply with quote

Somer Renee Thompson Report a Tip

Sex: Female

Race: White Age at Disappearance: 7

Current Age: 7

Height: 3' 7"

Weight: 65 lbs. Hair (Color, Description, Facial Hair): Brown

Eyes: Brown

Scars and Tattoos: Somer has a birthmark on her lower right leg.

No known tattoos.

Location information: Somer was last seen in the area of West Gano Ave. and Debarry Ave. in Orange Park, Fla., walking home from school.

Last Seen: Orange Park , FL
Somer was last seen in the area of West Gano Ave. and Debarry Ave. in Orange Park, Fla.

Last Known Locations: Orange Park , FL

Somer lived in the area where she went missing. She was walking home from school.
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Little Somer was found (undoubtedly) in a landfill near the Georgia state line. I live here in Jacksonville and Georgia is about a 45 minute drive north on I-95, a little further as you go inland.

Probably up US 1 to Georgia, the route I took to Ocilla via Waycross to check out the situation with missing schoolteacher Tara Grinstead. (see 30 year old Georgia teacher Tara Grinstead missing)

Here's the Orlando Sentinel story on it:

Found body feared to be missing Florida girl Somer Thompson
AP
Orlando Sentinel
October 21, 2009
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/crime/orl-bk-missing-somer-thompson-body-found-102109,0,4303649.story

In it police are quoted as saying they followed dump trucks from Jacksonville suburb Orange Park where she was walking home from school to the landfill near Georgia.

Sheriff Rick Beseler said they searched through nearly 100 tons of trash to find her.

I cannot commend Sheriff Beseler and local law enforcement enough on this. I had to post for two years trying to get the Lubbock landfill searched for Joanna Rogers. They finally did and found her and convicted the scum who did it. It was a no brainer - he was caught trying to dump a woman in a suitcase in the landfill and then they found Joanna's name in his PC buddy list. (see Another missing woman/girl-Joanna Rogers, 16, of Lubbock, TX)

There were others found in landfills - Lori Hacking (Missing in Utah Monday) and Monica Lozada come to mind (see Monica Lozada missing in NY)

As I wrote in Monica's thread, it is all too apparent now that throwing women away in the trash makes them disappear all too well.

The worst part is, whoever did this likely is known as someone who will do this. At the end, I dedicated Chandra's story Murder on a Horse Trail to tracking offenders, violent ex-felons and sex offenders on probation, with GPS. (see Track offenders with GPS recorders!)

I made the case that we would know where these people are, stop these people from roaming around preying on lambs, and change the whole nature of law enforcement from reacting to each death and hoping to find who did it to knowing with certainty who didn't do it, with all the usual suspects on that list.

It would cut costs and save lives so dramatically that it is a shame it is only slowly being put into place, and not the cost effective approach I advocate of recording GPS location readings and downloading off the ankle bracelet during weekly probation check-ins.

It was another little girl I wrote about in Murder on a Horse Trail, Carlie Brucia (see Car wash surveillance camera catches kidnapping on tape), and yet another little girl I wrote about in Track Offenders with GPS!, Jessica Lunsford, and they just keep disappearing and we keep pretending probation means something when it doesn't with all these violent men running around who have proven over and over they are just looking for their next victim, and they think we're sheep to let them do it.

And they're right. I have asked over and over what it will take to move us to action, surely we will not allow the roaming wolves to strike again, but we always do.

rd

click to read the online true crime mystery novel Murder on a Horse Trail: The Disappearance of Chandra Levy

www.justiceforchandra.com home page
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gozgals



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 2892
Location: A Place Called Vertigo

PostPosted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is terrible news. More comments later.

Thanks for the update.

May she RIP. Such a child too. So sad.
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gozgals



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PostPosted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 5:21 pm    Post subject: Sex offenders Cleared Reply with quote

I guess we will find out soon if this was a random killing. The SO have been cleared to date of any involvement in her death. LE won't comment if they are looking for a white van at this time.

Fair Use
Sex Offenders Not Suspects in Florida Girl's Murder; Mom 'Won't Sleep' Until Killer Found
Friday, October 23, 2009
Fox News & Associated Press

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569245,00.html


Snip

Detectives have interviewed all registered sex offenders living near a murdered Florida girl whose body was found buried in a mound of trash, but none of them are suspects in her death.

Clay County Sheriff's spokeswoman Mary Justino said Friday that investigators have talked to all 161 of the sex offenders residing within a 5-mile radius of 7-year-old Somer Thompson's house.

"Homes have been searched, properties have been searched," she told reporters. "We feel at this time that we do not have any suspects who are members of that group. That part of the procedure has been completed."

So far, police have not made an arrest in the first-grader's killing in Orange Park, a suburb of about 9,000 people just south of Jacksonville Naval Air Station.

Justino declined to comment on reports that detectives were focusing on a white van in the case.

"That is not something we're interested in divulging," she said. "We're not interested in corrupting this investigation."


Snip
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gozgals



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PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:03 am    Post subject: Update from AMW Reply with quote

Unknown Somer Thompson Killer Report a Tip

Somer's Book Bag, Lunchbox Missing


View Larger

Somer disappeared while walking home from school with her siblings.

On Saturday, Nov. 7, AMW exclusively released two new clues in the case of 7-year-old Somer Thompson’s murder.

Take a close look at the artist renderings of the book bag and lunchbox that Somer was carrying the day she disappeared.

Police say these two items have not been found, but their discovery could point straight to Somer's killer. If you have information about these items, or think you might have seen them, call our hotline right away at 1-800-CRIME-TV.

So far, there are no suspects and no persons of interest in Somer’s murder.

Police say someone must have seen something the day was abducted on her walk home from school in Orange Park, Fla.

"Lots of traffic," Sheriff Rick Beseler said. "Lots of kids going home on bicycles and walking and it’s just almost amazing that at that time of day a child could just vanish off the face of the earth without anybody seeing anything."

Now, he's asking anyone with information to come forward.

On Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2009, Sheriff Beseler made an appeal to the public for help.

"We have reason to believe that there are individuals who have information pertinent to this investigation who have yet to come forward because they did not feel that their information was important or relevant to this investigation," Beseler said. "Specifically, we're referring to people who may know or associate with the offender in this case."

He asked people to report anyone who has recently changed their behavior in the following ways:

- Leaving the area unexpectedly, even if it seems that they have a good reason

- Missing work or other routine engagements particularly on the afternoon or night of the incident

- Unexplained injuries such as cuts, bruises, particularly on the head, arms and hands

- An unnatural interest in the Somer Thompson investigation and paying close attention to the media

- Talking about this incident with others

- An increase in nervousness or irritability

- The sudden shaving of facial hair or head hair or the growing of a mustache or beard

- No longer operating their work vehicle for any reason, including reporting it stolen, giving it away or hiding it in a garage

- A change in the use of alcohol or cigarettes usage, either increase or decrease


Detectives know the cause of death in Somer's murder, but are not announcing it, for fear of compromising the investigation.

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=69151
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 1:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

goz, the local news here in Jacksonville is all over a guy being arrested today as a person of interest in Somer's murder. He was in a house on the street Somer disappeared on that was searched for days last fall. Apparently at the time they found child porn on his computer but didn't arrest him.

Today they are arresting him in Meridian, Mississippi, on those child porn charges, 1 million bond with naming him POI in Somer's death. He seemed to have left town here for some reason. They are also searching a vacant house a few doors down the street from his house tonight.

They are not messing around in searching for evidence to put that guy away.

While they're busy trying to put one killer away, a college junior got murdered today, her body found in some woods off a street. It just never ends. We have so much vermin roaming the streets what else should we expect?

rd
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gozgals



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
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Location: A Place Called Vertigo

PostPosted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 7:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm sure he is the killer and the child porn is just another clue to what kind of scum he is. Seems we find the stuff in many of our cases when we really take a hard look at them. The dude from the VanDamn case had it all over his computer and he didn't seem the type. For that matter, didn't seem like the type to murder a sweet little girl either. Poor soul.

Sad about the other news of the murdered young girl. As you said, so much vermin wandering the streets, these murders keep happening. It will never stop. Once we think it slows down, it starts back up. Hopefully, the laws will get stricter and we can put some of the dirtbags away forever.

Goz
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rd



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Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 3:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just read this excellent summary by Angel Who Cares on websleuths.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95757

excerpt
http://jacksonville.com/community/clay/2010-02-12/story/clay_sheriff_defends_procedure_in_arrest_of_child_porn_suspect

In fact, five days after Somer disappeared, Clay authorities sent a computer to the state CyberCrime unit and asked for results to be rushed, Copes said. The results were back within a week, she said.



thanks. I have high regard for the work done when Somer disappeared and the initiative taken to follow the dumpster pickup trucks to GA and search the landfill to find Somer.

But while not wanting to second guess with 20/20 hindsight, it's clear from the summary that they didn't submit the computer for testing until Somer was found murdered. In other words, submitting it five days later means they didn't even rush to submit it when she was initially declared missing. (as in, just a missing child, not a murder yet.)

Then it would appear they scrambled to act on relevant backlog and got results in a week. I assume a relevant murder is what it takes to bypass lack of permission from owner for a search and get a subpoena to do it anyway?

How very sad.

I understand that there's a great deal of subpoena work necessary to prove who was logged on where when, and that results can't be attributed to owner until then. But the fact that the computer could be searched as soon as a child is murdered and know within a week it contained child porn means they could have submitted it as soon as they had it, before Somer was murdered, and surveilled before, not after.

Nothing changed, except we lost an innocent child.

rd
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gozgals



Joined: 28 Jul 2005
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 3:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How very sad...
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trigger



Joined: 19 Jun 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jarred Harrell will be arraigned on child porn on Wednesday ...

http://jacksonville.com/community/clay/2010-03-09/story/harrell_faces_more_child_sex_counts


I wonder when LE is going to arrest this monster for Somers murder.
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gozgals



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PostPosted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:03 am    Post subject: Trigger Reply with quote

Thanks trigger. Keep me updated, been out of the loop and away.

Did he get a murder charge too?

Any news on the porn charge?

Thanks

Goz
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
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Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hi trigger and goz. The monster was charged with her murder today.

Execution is too good for him.

May little Somer rest in peace. My heart goes out to her family.

rd
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