Somer Thompson Pictures: Her Mother Vows Justice, A Community Vows Never to Forget
ORANGE PARK, Fla. (CBS/AP) Somer Thompson was only 7 years old when she was murdered and thrown away like she meant nothing. But as her mother vows justice for her little girl, a community vows to prove that Somer's memory will live in.
PICTURES: Somer Thompson Murdered
Somer's chubby cheeks and thick brown bangs, still smile from missing person posters plastered on nearly every utility pole along the route from her elementary school to her Orange Park, Fla. home.
PICTURES: Somer Thompson Murdered
In front of a small church and in front of well-kept homes framed by tall trees with Spanish moss hanging from the branches, handmade signs implored anyone with information about the young girl's disappearance on her walk home from school to call the sheriff's office.
The messages were left over from when the middle-class neighborhood held out hope she would be discovered safe. On Wednesday those hopes were dashed. Her body was found in a Georgia landfill some 50 miles away.
PICTURES: Somer Thompson Murdered
"We're coming for you. We'll get you, and hopefully justice will be served," Somer's mother, Diena Thompson, said on ABC's "Good Morning America," Friday. It was a sentiment she echoed on CBS' "The Early Show."
At an intersection about halfway into Somer's final walk, a purple ribbon - which supporters and family members have been wearing - was tied to the pole of a stop sign.
Photo: Diena Thompson, center, attends a candle-light vigil for her daughter.
PICTURES: Somer Thompson Murdered
On Thursday evening, a steady flow of people - many of them parents, clutching the hands of young children - walked down that same road toward Somer's house to support her grieving family with a candlelight vigil.
Around a tree across the street from the girl's house, supporters had created a memorial, leaving hundreds of stuffed animals, flickering candles, signs and balloons.
Diena Thompson came out with purple ribbons tied in her hair to thank the group who sang "Amazing Grace" and "You Are My Sunshine," then recited the Lord's Prayer.
"I wish I could hug every one of you," Thompson said. "I love every one of you."
Cries of support came from the crowd of about 200: "The community is behind you!" and "We're here for you. You're in our prayers."
PICTURES: Somer Thompson Murdered
MORE ON CRIMESIDER
October 23, 2009 - Somer Thompson's Mom to Killer: "We're Coming For You"
October 23, 2009 - How Police Found Somer Thompson and How They Hope to Catch Her Killer
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.