Missing Florida girl's body found in Georgia landfill

[Newf]

Missing Florida girl's body found in Georgia landfill
Oct 22, 2009
CNN

The body of a small girl found in a south Georgia landfill has been identified as that of a missing 7-year-old Florida girl, Clay County, Florida, Sheriff Rick Beseler said Thursday morning.

John Bankhead of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told CNN the state medical examiner will positively determine whether the body belongs to Somer Thompson, who was last seen earlier this week.

The landfill is near Folkston, Georgia, 55 miles north of where the girl became separated from her schoolmates on her way home from school in Orange Park, Florida, on Monday.

[Newf]

Florida Police Confirm Body in Landfill Is That of Missing Girl
Thursday, October 22, 2009
FOX News

Florida police have tentatively identified a child's body found in a landfill as that of a missing 7-year-old girl who vanished while walking home from school on Monday.

Sheriff Rick Beseler said that the identification was based on clothing on the body and a birthmark that matched an "odd-shaped" mark on Somer Thompson's left shin.

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

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

"We were able to make a positive identification," Beseler said. "Based on a birthmark on the lower extremity and clothing the child was wearing. I gave the mother the sad news that we had made an identification of the body."

Beseler told reporters it was the hardest call he has ever had to make.

Somer's father, Samuel Thompson, said on Wednesday he believed it was likely his daughter.

"I'm angry. I'm so angry. I'm so hurt," Thompson told Florida Times-Union as he wept. "My baby daughter laying in trash. Discarded like a piece of trash. God help the sons of bitches who hurt my daughter. They better find them."

Few other details about the body, such as a possible cause of death, were released. An autopsy is planned by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for Thursday morning, at which time the coroner can officially identify the body.

"We hope to learn the cause and manner of the death that will assist us in the criminal investigation we are actively undertaking at this time," Beseler said. "The early discovery will be tremendously helpful in this investigation to help find the person or people responsible for the death of this beautiful child."

Beseler said at a news conference he still fears for the community until a suspect is apprehended. He wouldn't talk about what evidence police have recovered, or whether investigators believe the crime was committed by one or more people.

A crowd of about 150 people, some crying, gathered across the street from Somer's home on Wednesday, 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."

Somer vanished on her mile-long walk home from school Monday in Orange Park, a suburb of Jacksonville. 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 area where the girl disappeared is a heavily populated residential area with homes, apartment complexes and condominiums.

Somer's mother, Diena Thompson, said earlier Wednesday that she assumed someone had her daughter. Police suspected foul play after first investigating whether she had fallen into something or gotten lost.

People are encouraged to call the tip line at (877) 227-6911 with any additional tips and information that may help the murder investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Bigpineguy Retired]

Very Sad story, I hope that they catch and Fry the sick f*** that did this...


BPG~