October 23, 2009 9:58 AM

How Police Found Somer Thompson and How They Hope to Catch Her Killer

By
Edecio Martinez
Topics
Daily Blotter
(AP Photo/Phil Coale)
Photo: Police look for clues in the Somer Thompson murder investigation.

ORANGE PARK, Fla. (CBS/AP) Garbage trucks were the key to finding seven-year-old Somer Thompson's body and garbage trucks may be the key to finding her killer.

PICTURES: Somer Thompson Murdered

Officials say investigators tailed nine garbage trucks from Thompson's Florida neighborhood to a Georgia landfill and then picked through the trash as each rig spilled its load.

They sorted through more than 225 tons of garbage before the little girl's body was found.

At a news conference, Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said the quick discovery of Somer's body, two days after she disappeared, may have saved precious evidence that could lead to her killer.

"Had we not done this tactic," Beseler said. "I believe that body would have been buried beneath hundreds of tons of debris, probably would have gone undiscovered forever."

Searching landfills is common when children disappear, but it is unusual to try to zero in on them more efficiently by tracking a neighborhood's garbage trucks, said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Somer vanished on her one-mile walk home from school Monday in a heavily populated residential area, about a mile from a stretch of fast-food restaurants and other businesses, in the Jacksonville suburb of Orange Park.

Searchers combed the area before investigators, following garbage trucks that collected trash Tuesday, spotted her lifeless legs in a landfill about 50 miles away.

(AP)
Photo: Somer Thompson.

An autopsy to establish the cause of death is done, but authorities Thursday would not disclose their findings. Beseler would not say if Somer had been sexually assaulted or answer other questions about the condition of the body.

So far the police have questioned more than 155 registered sex offenders in the area. State online records show 88 sex offenders live in Orange Park, a suburb of about 9,000 people just south of Jacksonville Naval Air Station.

Now as the search for a missing girl turns into the search for her killer, the garbage trucks may again play a pivotal role.

Investigators will presumably try to pinpoint the trash bin or garbage can where she was dumped, based on the trash around her and the truck's pickup route. That could hopefully help them piece together a better timeline and offer a firmer direction for the investigation.

No arrests have been made.

PICTURES: Somer Thompson Murdered

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
October 22, 2009 - Somer Thompson Body Likely Found, Says Florida Sheriff
October 21, 2009 - Search for Missing 7-Year-Old Somer Thompson Leads to Body in Landfill
October 20, 2009 - Somer Thompson Vanished After School, Seven-Year-Old Girl Missing in Orange Park, Fla.


Add a Comment
by roghil October 26, 2009 9:57 AM EDT
Unfortunately, as long as there are humans on this planet, there will be crimes like this. All you can hope for is to catch them and get rid of them as fast as you can.
Reply to this comment
by skysrdark October 24, 2009 9:47 PM EDT
Want to post a comment for eevrybody to read.
Reply to this comment
by skysrdark October 24, 2009 9:19 PM EDT
It is very sad that Somer has been killed by some sicko. People who kill children deserve death. The one thing that goes through my mind is that her death could have been pervented. Why was she and the other children walking home alone they are too young. There should have been an adult with them while they were walking. I also like to know was somebody even at home for them when they got home from school. Those children are to young to be home by themself.
If there is a law for children to be alone at a certain age (under 12) then there should be. That law should be called Somer's Law
Reply to this comment
by Wiseone57 October 23, 2009 8:58 PM EDT
When in the world is this going to stop happening in this country? This kind of thing should never happen to any child, and the justice system needs to enact tougher laws against those who kill children. IMO I think whoever does this to a child be it a parent or a stranger, they should receive the death penalty. and it should be automatic with no appeals available. then maybe this kind of thing will be a thing of the past. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, TWO LITTLE GIRLS IN THE SAME WEEK. THIS IS TOO MUCH.
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