The Search Continues for Somer's Killer

(AP)  Detectives searching for a 7-year-old's killer have interviewed more than 100 sex offenders living nearby, sifted through tons of garbage and combed the well-kept neighborhood where Somer Thompson disappeared.

Missing child posters featuring the slain girl's face, framed by her thick brown bangs, still plaster nearly every utility pole along the mile-long route from her elementary school to her suburban Jacksonville home.

Somer was last seen alive walking along the sidewalk in front of a vacant house, and authorities said Friday that they're searching for anyone who saw what happened to the 7-year-old after that. Investigators sifted through evidence from that vacant house and the Georgia landfill where her body was found Wednesday.

So far, no witnesses have come forward to say they saw Somer attacked or abducted, sheriff's spokeswoman Mary Justino said.

"What we've been trying to figure out is who frequents that area, because obviously it's more than just the people who live there," she said.

The child's teary but resolute mother appeared on television interviews and warned her daughter's killer: "We'll get you." She pleaded for anyone with information to "please, please tell" police.

The day after the child's body was identified, authorities said they had ruled out all 161 registered sex offenders who lived within a 5-mile radius of Somer's home. Despite doggedly pursuing hundreds of leads, police have not made an arrest.

Somer vanished while walking home from her elementary school on Monday afternoon. The vacant house is on her route through a heavily populated, well-manicured neighborhood, and witnesses last saw the girl alive in front of it. She had gotten upset as she walked home with other children Monday and ran ahead of the group. Somer never made it home.

Neighbors said they were used to watching out for each other's children as they walked to and from school.

"Everybody knows everybody here. If there was a stranger on the street, we'd be looking at watching where they were going, seeing what they were doing here," said Monica Loeb, a family friend of the Thompsons.

Somer's mother, Diena Thompson, had a friend greet her children as they came home from school Monday because she was working, according to a police report. When Somer didn't arrive with the other children around 4 p.m., the friend sent Diena Thompson a text message. She raced home, and flagged down a passing police officer while she, her other children and her boyfriend scoured the neighborhood.

An autopsy has been completed and investigators know how Somer died, but authorities won't disclose their findings or any details about the body.

At a vigil held outside the Thompsons' home Friday night, the mother said she would not be able to see her daughter's body.

"They are going to give me a lock of her hair," Thompson said.

Mourning neighbors and others have gathered every night outside the home. On Friday, the mother joined them to sing Somer's favorite song, "You Are My Sunshine."

Diena Thompson declined to be interviewed Friday by The Associated Press. She spent part of the day making funeral arrangements, and a law enforcement officer was seen carrying a child's white dress from the family's home. A viewing will be held Monday night and a funeral will follow on Tuesday.

But Thompson appeared red-eyed on all three network television shows and said on ABC's "Good Morning America" that investigators will catch her daughter's killer.

"We're coming for you," she said. "We'll get you, and hopefully justice will be served."
By Associated Press Writer Ron Word; AP writers Kate Brumback and Brent Kallestad in Orange Park and Jennifer Kay in Miami contributed to this story

[carlaanne]

You child predators are all the same you molest then you kill. You are so predictable. You are a nobody that can't even do anything different from the last child killer. Why do you have to kill the child? It's bad enough that you torture the child. This little girl was young and innocent, you could have just dropped the child off someware. I'm not condoning anything, I think child molesters should be executed. I even think that serial killers should kill sex offenders instead off innocent people(that would never happen evil killing evil.) I just wonder, do these killers really think their hot **** or something taking a life of a small child? Do you really think so? You, if your out there should just put a bullet in your skull.

[erasmus111]

by tpeks40 October 24, 2009 1:59 PM EDT
I agree. I won't even let my 11 year old son wander the neighborhood without knowing exactly where he is at all times. I can remember being a child growing up in the 60's, and I was able to walk blocks away, and even up the the main street in the suburb we lived in, without worry. My dad would come looking for me at dusk. I can't imagine not knowing where my son is until dusk. I feel horrible for the family that lost their little girl, but with everything we know about child abductions, I can't believe people still let their young children walk anywhere without adult supervision.



We used to have a bush behind our house where I grew up. My cousins and I would play in there all the time. You cannot do that today. Kids aren't even safe in their own yards. In fact, they aren't even safe in their bedrooms at night. Several kids have been taken from their rooms in the night.

People think that if they live in a good neighbourhood that they are safe. They are not. They think that if they live in a small quiet town that they can leave their doors and windows unlocked or open. They can not.

People just dont't learn. It's just like how many times have I read where somebody has left their small children in a car and the heat has killed them. But they just keep doing it.

[erasmus111]

by Jaysah October 24, 2009 12:51 PM EDT
People often think there is safety in numbers, but children do not always stay together, and there have been many abductions of a child while other children, or even adults, were nearby. Children are snatched from crowded malls and grownups disappear from rock concerts. It takes just a few seconds to snatch someone.


Yes, it no longer matters whether a child is with others or not. A car pulls over snatches one before the others have time to think. And I have heard many times that malls are havens for kid snatchers. Mommy tells kid to wait in the toy department for her and that's the last she sees of him/her.

[tpeks40]

I agree. I won't even let my 11 year old son wander the neighborhood without knowing exactly where he is at all times. I can remember being a child growing up in the 60's, and I was able to walk blocks away, and even up the the main street in the suburb we lived in, without worry. My dad would come looking for me at dusk. I can't imagine not knowing where my son is until dusk. I feel horrible for the family that lost their little girl, but with everything we know about child abductions, I can't believe people still let their young children walk anywhere without adult supervision.

[Jaysah]

People often think there is safety in numbers, but children do not always stay together, and there have been many abductions of a child while other children, or even adults, were nearby. Children are snatched from crowded malls and grownups disappear from rock concerts. It takes just a few seconds to snatch someone.

[formrusmcsgt]

I need to apologize to Ms. Thompson here. Yesterday, I took her to task for not watching out for her child as she was playing. I erred.

I should have taken her to task for not making arrangements for someone to meet the girl at the bus if she could not.

I can't imagine anyone expecting a 7 year-old to be able to protect herself.

Her negligence will haunt her the rest of her days.

[erasmus111]

"Her negligence will haunt her the rest of her days."


I agree.

I just don't understand parents these days. We are constantly reading about children going missing, yet nobody is listening. You do not leave children unattended anymore. I don't give a damn where you live, there are perverts living everywhere.