Child's body found in landfill, police looking for girl say

[Beaverhausen]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- Police looking for a missing 7-year-old Florida girl said Wednesday they have found the body of a child in a landfill in south Georgia, about an hour from the girl's home.


Police have been looking for Somer Thompson, 7, who disappeared Monday on her way home from school.

Investigators haven't identified the body. The landfill is about 55 miles north of where Somer Thompson became separated from her schoolmates Monday on her way home from school in Orange Park, Florida, authorities said.

"We hope and pray that it's not the body of Somer, but the garbage that was brought into that area ... was collected in the Orange Park area," Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler told reporters.

The body, found at a landfill near Folkston, Georgia, was partially covered, Beseler said.

"All that we can see at this time are the lower extremities, but it is a white female or a white child. We cannot say the sex," he said.

But Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said officials believe the body is that of a female.

A criminal investigation has begun, and members of the FBI's forensic crimes unit were heading to the landfill to process the scene, Beseler said.

Somer's parents have been alerted to the find, he said.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/21/georgia.landfill.body/index.html

---

OH NO!!! :cry:

[CoffeeCat]

1. The principal at our school...

includes a blurb about our kids walking to school--in the school newsletter that comes home. He
says it's important that we parents allow our children (grades K-5) to walk home from school. He
suggests that this fosters independence and that parents really need to work on allowing their kids
to make the walk.

We live about a mile from school. The kids would walk on a sidewalk next to a busy street, and they would
have to cross a busy street that has a stoplight. There is a crossing guard there, who is very nice and he
does a great job. However, some of these kids are 5, 6 and 7 years old.

I'm sorry, but I think that distance is too long for young children. I know the chances are slim that a
child would get abducted, but why is "independence" so damn paramount? What about safety? What about
driving your child to school and being with them to say good bye? Is that not important?

I think we want kids to grow up too fast. I think we try to make them so "independent" so fast, and that
can leave them vulnerable.

There have been many reports in our area that adults have been trying to coax kids into cars. I drive
my kids to school. I don't care if I look like a hovering helicopter parent. It's my job to keep them
safe as well as foster independence.

I think schools need to think twice before they encourage this stuff. Our principal is an A-1 idiot, so
maybe it's just him. Who knows.

Anyway--such a heartbreaking story. That mother is in so much pain and it's just so sad hearing her crying
and so hurt, when she talks about all of this. So tragic.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. No way would I let my kids walk like that.

[Odin2005]

60. I walked to school by myself when I was 6 ( in 1992)

But it was a little rural town and I lived only 3 blocks from school.

I was shocked when I learned that here in Fargo kids 11yo and younger have to have adult supervision after asking a coworker why his 11yo son was still going to daycare. I was a latch-key kid who, after my sister graduated when I was 8, was alone a lot because my parents worked.

[GreenPartyVoter]

71. My 8 yo brother and I would walk a 1/2 mile into town to buy penny candy. I wouldn't

let my kids do that now.

[bertman]

6. I certainly agree that no elementary schooler should be walking home alone if it can

be avoided. But when children can walk home with other children, and they have been taught what to do for safety, is that not a good thing for them to do?

[maglatinavi]

14. safety...

sure, and see what has happened to that child ... she dissapeared... and may have been killed ... safety??? what kind of safety?:thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:

[bertman]

52. It really doesn't take much imagination to come up with lots of ways that children can

safely walk home from school. A few: walk in groups of children who have been taught about the dangers posed by someone trying to lure them or snatch them AND how to react if that does happen. How about whistles on lanyards for an alert system?

Give the kids a couple of cell phones with preset dialing to 911 so that they can immediately call the police if someone appears to be threatening.

There are surely lots more ways to do it if I can come up with two right off the top of my head. The important point is to teach kids how to recognize the potential dangers and how to deal with them (as a group and as individuals), rather than have them live in fear.

[alfredo]

44. My big sister walked with me to school. It was about a mile and a half each

way. By the time she went off to high school I was old enough to walk by myself.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. At what age will you allow your kids to walk? It's gotta happen eventually.

[JI7]

9. around 10-13 maybe, but certainly not at 7

[Odin2005]

61. 13? 13!?! That seems WAY too overprotective to me.

[liberal_at_heart]

11. definitely not 7

My daughter started walking to school with friends in 6th grade when she was 12. Until that point, she either rode the bus or I drove her. My son is 11 and he still rides the bus but he is autistic so it will be much longer before he starts getting out on his own.

[emilyg]

12. 11-13

At 7 they are babies.

[JI7]

8. it's stupid, you can teach them to be independent in many ways, like art

i notice in many schools and other places that people always try to get kids to do things that they think will help them when they are older. but something like walking home from school is not really something they need to be taught. having adults walk with you when you are very young is not going to hurt you in any way when you get older. you will still be able to walk alone and be independent .

[itcfish]

21. Maybe He Wants

You to walk with them so the kids get some exercise. Parents should form a walking group to supervise the children. Walking is probably a good idea with parent supervision.

[AngryAmish]

22. I walked 1/2 mile in the high crime 70s to kindergarten

I'll let my kids grow up.

[CoffeeCat]

25. That's what the woman with the dead child said...

I'd rather have my kids alive, than put them at risk for the sake of "letting them grow up".

My 8 and 9 year old kids are incredibly responsible and they have a lot of freedom. I am
letting them grow up.

I just feel that putting them at risk is not in their best interest. We've had reports of adults
trying to coax children into cars.

And I walked to and from school in the '70's too. I also played all day long--coming home only
for lunch and dinner. A bunch of us would play in the creek and in the woods that were 1/2 mile
from our home. You just can't do this today.

[AngryAmish]

28. The 70s were substantially more dangerous than today

Compare the statistics.

[CoffeeCat]

35. As far as child abductions goes?

Because it seems like more children disappear today, than back in the 1970's.

More sex crimes against children as well.

[AngryAmish]

37. 1. Much fewer crimes against children

2. Rapes have plunged something like 85% since the early 70s. As for crimes against children, I think those are down as well.

I don't have all the research but this table shows violent crimes of adolescents are half of what they were in 1975.


Remember, some people think we have more tornado's than ever. No, we just have more nationwide reporting of tornadoes. Child abduction is so rare that it makes national news. There are task forces when children go missing - it is much harder to be a serial abductor, killer nowadays.

on edit: If you think about it it makes sense: most crimes are done by younger men. The Baby Boomers have gotten too old to commit crimes. So there are fewer young men and fewer offenders. Plus long sentences for child relate crime means the dangerous ones spend a lot of time in jail.

[TheMadMonk]

66. Another thing is that sex crimes committed against children...

...were not considered nearly as heinous as they are today. The "dirty old man", or older kid, with his hand in a little girls knickers, just plain did not have the same incentive to "cover up" his crime as today's offenders.

[LanternWaste]

69. Or fewer crimes reported...

Or fewer crimes reported at the time.... :shrug:

[Erebus67]

56. One thing you have to keep in mind is the level of media we have today.

We hear about a lot more of these cases because they need to fill 24 hour news cycles. Also statistically your child is much more likely to die in your car with you than to be abducted walking to school. If they covered everytime a child died in a car wreck like they are covering this your head would spin.

That being said, 7 is too young unless she was walking with an older(teenage IMO) sibling that wouldn't let her hand go for her to run off like she did.

It's very unlikely that an abductor will target a child in a group. They are looking for kids that are walking alone, my assumption would be so there is no witnesses to who grabbed the child or to help that child fight back.

[Odin2005]

62. Actually, it's just the opposite.

Kidnappings and child molestation by strangers are went down A LOT since the 70s. There was a big shift in attitudes towards kids during the 80s and 90s, which is a huge contributing factor to the differences between Gen-Xers and Millennials like myself.

You are a victim of media sensationalism.

[axollot]

45. Most likely due to a better understanding of how the paedo's

operate and teaching children about safety than anything else. We all did a lot of stuff in our youth we wouldn't let our children do today. It's not being overly protective, just better understanding.

Back in the day we didn't wear helmets or seat belts etc - it's only been through our understanding of these things that we take precautions. I'm sure the ratio of paedo's in the population is about the same now as it was then. Better education in safety is most likely the reason the statistics are lower - even the police are better at dealing with missing children now then they were then. With missing children they move much more quickly too knowing that the first 24-48hours are critical to saving a child during stranger abductions. Sadly, it's been a 'live and learn' from our mistakes - many have died to save the lives of others.

Cheers
Sandy

[jus_the_facts]

23. I walked or rode my bicycle in the first grade ...back in the early 70's...

...society has changed in so many ways since then though. :(

[Brickbat]

36. I wish my kids could walk to school.

If we lived in town, they would.

[axollot]

43. HEY CoffeeCat - Im one of those parents too.. This is in my county.

..although we are just far enough away that my 6yr old has the school bus available - I am the *only* parent at the bus stop in the morning and afternoon. Everyday.

We are close to where this child was taken, my daughter knew her and her twin brother. This happened about 5-10 min drive from our home, but in my in-laws neighbourhood - I drove past her home thousands of times - and would see them outside playing often. It's a really normal upper middle class area.

We also had an abduction attempt in our neighbourhood on my daughters bus route, 2 men tried to pull a child into a car. And then there was the other attempt around the same time as the one here - *10 days ago* (didn't make the news, parents weren't told - I found out from the bus driver!) - where the girl age 5 got away. That one was 1 block away from where Somer went missing. (that one too - happened on a Sat. but the school where Somer went was not notified, didn't make the news till Somer went missing Monday).

Does it not sound like a serial - don't want to say killer per say - but just the pattern of attempts, how close together, similar neighbourhoods, similar age of children (all attempts were on kids age 5-9) - and it seems like it's 'intensifying'. Until they find who killed this little girl obviously it's only speculation - but beyond the obvious, something is rotten - and I do feel as though another child will be taken very soon if they do not catch the killer/s quickly.

Knowing the area, the person that did this was incredibly confident. Broad daylight, busy (very busy area/street where Somer was taken for residential) streets at a highly busy time of day within 15 min of the last time she was seen and her siblings getting to their home to find her not there.

Clay County where this has happened - has not had anything like this in 22 years. I do have faith in our officers to handle this crime tho. It's a pretty mild county over all - at least compared with our Jax neighbours - Duval county.

I firmly believe that kids under 10 *really* should not be allowed to walk a mile home from school alone/unsupervised. I'm just protective like that - and it hasn't hurt my grown children aged 16 and 20 so it wont hurt my very independent 6yr old either.

Cheers
*worried*
Sandy

[abelenkpe]

54. I walked to school and back

everyday starting in first grade. I remember running around the neighborhood with my friends going down to the lake staying outside unsupervised for hours when I was only six and seven. My mother used to get woken up by calls from the neighbors at six am when I was five because I would have gone with my little brother to the farm near our house to feed the chickens. I really liked those chickens.
There is no way in hell I would ever let my kids walk to school or even leave our apartment unsupervised. They are only three and five right now. My kids attend Montessori school and they too preach independence. Yeah, forget that!
We live in the city and I can see the amount of registered sex offenders in our neighborhood online. People are desperate, times are bad, kids are vulnerable, its a bad mix.
How about we just don't ever let sex offenders or anyone guilty of abusing or harming a child out of prison? Because really, if one would harm an innocent child they really are not fit for society.

[mzmolly]

55. The Principal sounds like a dipshit.

There is a huge difference between a five year old and a twelve year old. We were taught to always walk in groups.

[Abacus]

58. Two men tried to coax me into their van the 80s

I was about seven and if I hadn't been on a bicycle when they offered me a ride, I might've accepted. :scared: Instead, I said "No!" and pedaled like mad.

I've got a toddler and a newborn now and they're not walking alone to school until they're shaving. (Okay, maybe not quite that protective...)

[liberal_at_heart]

2. so incredibly sad

It's just heartbreaking. My thougths and prayers are with the family. Why was this little girl walking home from school by herself? My children have never walked to school by themselves. It's a sad world we live in but you just can't trust anyone, anywhere, anytime. You have to watch your children. I hope they catch the person who took her and hurt her and lock them away forever. I don't believe in the death penalty, but I do believe in protecting the public from violent criminals. And I don't believe sex predators can be rehabilitated so we have to keep them away from the public.

[CoffeeCat]

10. The sad thing is...

...this little girl was walking home with a group of kids. There was a squabble, and another little girl
chimed in and told Somer to stop fighting. Somer then ran ahead, and out of sight, of the group of kids.
She wasn't that far ahead..there must have been a hill or something. That's when someone took her.

It's just gut wrenching. The entire story is just so sad.

[axollot]

46. No hill - the area is completely FLAT - and straight -

it had to happen just far enough ahead that her older sister, brother and friends couldn't see her. This area is also sidewalks all the way around. Lots of cars are on that street that are not local tho - due to the way it's a sort of 'go around' to get away from the really heavy business area traffic.

Lots of stop signs and crossing guards in the area as well. Since she was found amongst refuse from that neighbourhood, me thinks she *knew* them, or has seen whom ever did this enough times to not be afraid of them. The killer took the opportunity, possibly had been waiting for one just like it for a while.

Worse, the entire area's trash had been checked during the 24hr search the night before(including my inlaws) so who ever did this, had to have brought her out last minute or after the search crew came through. The window of opportunity was very, very small for both disposing her like this and the time she was taken.

Cheers
Sandy

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. This is just horrible.

:cry:

[JI7]

5. horrible, her poor mother

[Politicalboi]

13. Somer has a twin brother

Who was also walking with the other kids.

[Roland99]

15. WESH 2 news just had Breaking News: Confirmation the body was Somer's

:(

[Le Taz Hot]

16. Oh no!

Gentle journey, young Somer. You left us too soon. :cry:

[Omaha Steve]

17. I heard a sound clip of the mom on the news at lunch yesterday

She was crying while saying, "please just return her., we won't file any charges". "She has a twin and he is lost without her".

[SalmonChantedEvening]

18. No words.

:cry:

[Jefferson23]

19. It was reported this child did not have a school bus pick up option.

What the hell is the crime rate in Florida, this is too sad, poor child.

[itcfish]

24. I was thinking

The same thing, Why no school bus for these kids? This is a crime was committed by a pedophile and the state of Florida

[Jefferson23]

26. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing a budget reason..sad.

[liberal_at_heart]

30. alot of schools are cutting transportation

My kids still have bus stops very close to the house. I have been fortunate enough that when my kids needed rides to school I was available to give them rides. Not all parents can do that. There has to be transportation available for those students who can't get a ride to school. Especially elementary school kids. I can't believe anybody, parent or school administrator, would expect a 7 yr old to walk to school. If they cut the budget for that I would throw such a freakin fit. Our city tried to raise the speed limit in our neighborhood. There were already lots of near misses near school cross walks. My husband is legally blind. He stood up at the town meeting and asked if me or my child gets hit by a car who do I contact to sue the city?. The overwhelming majority of the residents were against the speed limit raise and we raised enough of a stink about it they did not raise it. I bet a few law suits from parents whose children get hurt on their way to school would put those buses back on the road.

[Jefferson23]

31. Good for you that your family took action! Sad to say, this district

will likely get their bus route now, after the fact. I don't know what the hell is up with Florida, it appears that crime seems to be worse there, but honestly, child predators can take their car and their obcessions any where they please...so we do need to try and at least minimize the risk for all our children as best we can.

[maglatinavi]

27. thinking

Whoever is responsible for not having transportation for these kids should be penalized... How come Florida has so many predators? ... and what about Heileigh the other Florida girl that has disappeared also? Wasn't the nanny/girlfriend/step mom recently trying to buy drugs??? What is wrong with that family and the father? Why did he marry the girlfriend after the child mysteriously disappeared? It is boggling the mind to think about these aberrant people.

[axollot]

47. The reason is if the school is 1mile or less from the home then no bus. This may change it

for elementary children. Personally, I think that is nuts when dealing with 5-10yr old kids in elementary school.
cheers
sandy

[buffalowings]

20. Depraved minds, who prey and are in a wasteland of soul

Sometimes depraved minds think they can symbolically scare people off...attempting to make a point...in their depravity. But what they don't realize is that as self-righteous people cannot kill off depravity, neither can symbolically driven-deprivity kill off the goodness of souls. They'll always keep returning.

A candle lighting...for American souls...and for the small-soul-holder of children, we, two, the parents.

[Piwi2009]

50. depraved minds

It's just our bad luck that no matter how depraved their soul, how stunted their empathy, their genitals still work beautifully.
The movie "M" was made in 1931 with the ending "we need to watch our children." We still have to learn.

There is a way to render these bastards harmless without having to kill them. I was always in favor of blinding them, myself.
Hell we could even turn them loose, if they were blind. This view may get me in trouble on D.U.

[buffalowings]

57. Take the eye patches off...watch the stalks.

<<their genitals still work beautifully>>

Sounds like a stalking, most likely, but not that of a gentleman. Don't think blindness will work on cases such as these. We all need to take the eye patches off!

[chatnoir]

29. MSNBC reported that 161 registered sex offenders live in the area

That seems like an unusually high concentration for a smaller place.

How awful. :(


Edited title and added link as MSNBC corrected article to say that it is actually 161 sex offenders in a 5 mile radius of the home. They've questioned 70 so far.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33427528/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

[Mariana]

32. That by itself doesn't necessarily mean much

when you can be made to register if you moon someone, or get caught peeing in the bushes, or if you're a teen and have sex with your underage girlfriend (or boyfriend).

How many of those registered offenders are actually dangerous?

[chatnoir]

33. Peeing in bushes/mooning qualifies as a sexual offense?

FL has a chart of qualifying adult convictions at link but nothing sounds as harmless as that:

http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/FAQ.jsp#Question9

[Mariana]

40. In some states, yes they do.

I don't know about Florida, but in some states people have indeed been required to register for those reasons. Some of those Florida requirements are rather vague. "Lewd and lascivious" for example, can be interpreted pretty broadly. And just what does "Sexual misconduct prohibited" mean?

Anyway, my point is just that the fact that there are registered sez offenders in the area doesn't mean much unless you know what their offenses were. I'd much rather they had a "registered child molester/kidnapper/killer" list and limited it to that, but that's not the way it's been done.

[chatnoir]

51. Living in Sf and seeing as much

public urination here as we often do, it's surprising to hear that all these ppl would be registered as sexual offenders elsewhere.

Public nuisance, yes. Disturbing the peace, ok. But sexual offender? You learn sth new everyday...

The state does differentiate between 'offender' and predator' according to the FL site. It's unclear where the line is but the latter are the ones to worry about.

[guitar man]

65. yep

Here in Oklahoma a stripper that gets busted and convicted for dancing without pasties or a g-string becomes a registered sex offender.

[Xithras]

38. Or, more importantly, how many are dangerous to children?

A guy who got too drunk at a college frat party and date raped another student can certainly be considered dangerous after release, but that danger doesn't necessarily extend to children. The fact that someone is sexually deranged doesn't automatically transform them into a pedophile.

In the U.S., on average, only about 20% of registrable sexual offenders committed crimes involving minors under 18, and somewhere between 10% & 15% involve children under 15.

[axollot]

48. right - it's actually considered a 'normal' amount for the population, sadly.

Easy to check out ones area with your own zipcode. Now this I *DO* know - of those 5 are considered 'sexual predators' - which you will see from the FDLE sexual offenders list is in bright red under their picture. Predators are the ones to really be conserned about, and the ones that should *NOT* be out of prison.

Why are these assholes out of jail and pot smokers in jail? Empty the jails of drug offenses, stop treating drug offenders as criminals, start treating them as in need of medical care. STOP treating the paedophiles as needing medical care and realize it cannot be cured, keep them in prison as criminals, instead. This shit has been my pet peeve for a long time.

Cheers
Sandy

[WriteDown]

34. Reports are saying it's her. nt

[MindPilot]

39. I thought this comment was pretty crass when I heard it on the radio yesterday

"We hope and pray that it's not the body of Somer..."

Like if it isn't that makes everything OK. It is still the body of someone's--likely abducted, raped and murdered--daughter even if it isn't Somer.

[onenote]

42. self delete

[LisaL]

64. If you knew the girl, I presume you would also be hoping it

were someone else.

[Fire1]

41. NO child should walk home ALONE, imo. EVER. In fact, over

the years, I've witnessed an increasing number of students being picked up by parents and older siblings, as a result of increasing violence and brutality in the streets (gang related or isolated incidents). The only students who walk are those who live down or across the street from the school and even THEN, some relative is there to escort them home.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

59. it isn't what it used to be

many years ago I walked 1/2 mile to school but that was a long time ago. Things have got more weird since then.

[TheMadMonk]

68. It would be interesting to see the stats for children killed/injured by vehicles...

...driven by parents dropping of or picking up their kids at school. Certainly the reports I've seen on these "scrums" is very very frightening: Illegal turns; double parking; parking in No Parking zones; parents crossing the road with their kids just a few metres down from designated crossings; just simply limiting visibility with big "safe" SUVs and people movers.

As others have already pointed out (repeatedly) the real statistics show far fewer incidents such as this today than in the bucolic 70's. The difference is the way the media treats these incidents when they happen. And I strongly suspect such reporting is all part and parcel with the ongoing campaign to make us feel unsafe in our own neighbourhoods. To convince us to vote for the (far more often than not right wing) "tough on crime" candidate.

The "namby pamby liberal" talks of addressing the underlying causes of society's ills. The conservative candidate promisses to "lock the criminals away where they can do no harm" AND does his damnedest to make sure the aforementioned liberal never gets the funds to try his "dangerous social experiment".

Funny then isn't that in those societies where the focus IS on prevention, there is far far less serious crime than in those that focus almost entirely on punishing crime after the fact.

[bedazzled]

72. boy, are you spot on! i live in florida, too and they drive on the sidewalks here

next to elementary schools. never seen anything
like it in my life.

[slampoet]

49. My vote for Sloppiest headline EVER.

Couldn't they find a reporter that can write?

[rvablue]

53. You mean, "who"

A reporter "who" can write.

I'm no grammar Nazi, but hey, you were complaining about sloppy syntax, so I thought you'd want to know.

:)

[Odin2005]

63. OMG!

:cry:

[NoodleyAppendage]

67. What's up with all of the child murders in Florida?

Is it just me or does there appear to be a disproportionate amount to child murders in Florida?

J

[buffalowings]

70. Florida in general

I understand there seems to be a good amount of stallking (wives and girlfirends) and John's (not meaning toiliets for pea or pooh ) but men posing as regular dudes. Therefore the energy, though high, is not always the best.

It's not a stable population as there are a good many transients passing through. It's also a large tourist attraction, with Disney and the beaches. It's a great place, plenty of fun activities, sport teams, horse back riding, base ball... you name it, lots to do; but as parents, both mom and pop need to be aware of the dangers of a transient population...people coming into Florida for good paying jobs etc.,