Athena was reported missing at 5.45pm on Wednesday after her stepmother failed to find her at home.
Photo: Texas Department of Public Safety/Courtesy
And FedEx delivery driver allegedly abducted a 7-year-old girl from her Texas home earlier this week before killing herthe police said.
The crime was revealed when Police said they had found Athena Strand’s body on Friday eveningwho was reported missing after she was not found in her room on Wednesday.
The police believe it FedEx driver Tanner Lynn Horner had delivered a package to his home at the time of the disappearancereported CBS.
Horner, 31, allegedly confessed to kidnapping the girl from her home in Heaven, about 40 miles NW of Fort Worth. He was charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping.
“We knew from the beginning of the investigation that a FedEx driver had made a delivery in front of the house at the same time that 7-year-old Athena went missing,” Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin said during a news conference Friday night. .
Los The detectives have “digital evidence” that Horner committed the crime, but they haven’t elaborated on what the evidence consists of.. The alleged killer is being held on $1.5 million bail.
Athena likely died “within the same hour after she left home,” Akin said. Police declined to reveal how Athena died, saying they found her southeast of Boyd, a town about 10 miles from her paradise home.
Athena was reported missing at 5.45pm on Wednesday after her stepmother failed to find her at home.
“We know there was a little argument between her and her stepmom last night, but it’s nothing unusual,” Akin told NBC 5. He was not in his room.”
The stepmother searched for Athena for about an hour before reporting the girl missing, Akin said.
Police had theorized that she had left the house alone but may have gotten lost.
Officials waited to issue an Amber Alert until Thursday morning because her family told police Athena had already done so and they expected to find her at night, station WFAA reported.
The search team’s helicopters used thermography to detect signs of Athena.
However, Athena’s family told police she was afraid of the dark and weren’t sure if she would be willing to leave the house alone.
“We definitely don’t think Athena ran away,” Keeland Kulbeth, Athena’s aunt and sister of Athena’s mother, told NBC 5.
The police did not rule out a criminal act and the possibility of a kidnapping.
Athena’s disappearance has sparked intense search efforts. About 200 citizens joined various Texas departments in scouring about 50 acres in Paradise.
The response was so overwhelming that the Wise County Department of Emergency Management asked volunteers to stop reporting to search teams.
Athena’s family describe her as a kind and sweet girl.
“She’s a very warm and friendly girl, she loves people, she loves animals, she loves flowers, she’s a very girly girl,” Kulbeth told NBC 5.
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