ORANGE PARK, Fla. (AP) — Detectives searching for a missing 7-year-old north Florida girl said they found the body of a young child in a Georgia landfill Wednesday, but it has not yet been identified.
Clay County, Fla., Sheriff Rick Beseler first said the partially covered body was a female, but then corrected himself and said he couldn’t yet confirm the gender. The parents of Somer Thompson, who has been missing since Monday, have been notified.
The body was found by Clay County detectives who followed garbage trucks from the girl’s neighborhood to Folkston, Ga., just north of the Florida border in Charlton County, Ga.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said the agency was assisting with the investigation and would conduct an autopsy on the body Thursday morning in its Savannah office.
“We all need to say a prayer for Somer’s family,” Gov. Charlie Crist said at a press conference announcing the discovery.
Somer vanished on her mile-long walk home from school Monday in Orange Park, near Jacksonville.
She was squabbling with another child, and her sister told her to stop. The girl got upset, walked ahead of the group and wasn’t seen again.
Orange Park is a suburb of Jacksonville just south of Jacksonville Naval Air Station. The area where the girl disappeared is a heavily populated residential area with homes, apartment complexes and condominiums.
State News
October 21, 2009
Child’s body found in Georgia
Search for Florida girl leads to discovery in Folkston landfill
- State News
-
- Four Wildlife Camps planned
- Spots available in archery camp
- Butler named Waterfowl Officer of the Year
- Atlanta peregrine nest produces four high-flying falcons
- Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta Declares First Quarter 2011 Dividend
- Wildlife center plans event
- Winning Waterfall Names Announced by Cloudland Canyon State Park
- Southwest Georgia Farm Credit Announces 2011 Board Election Results
- Summer Term Students Get More HOPE at ABAC
- Darton College Foundation To Host Scholarship Gala May 13
- More State News Headlines
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
Hurricane Forecast: 15 Named Storms Expected
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Search Intensifies for Missing Louisiana Woman
Bloomberg: Man Implicates Self in Etan Patz Case
NYPD: Person Implicated in Etan Patz Death
Raw Video: Fire on Nuke-powered Sub in Maine
Illegal Burn Suspected in Nevada Fire
Obama: 'We've Got More Work to Do'
Astrologers Predict Outcome of Presidential Race
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
FAMU Bandmates: Victim Volunteered to Be Hazed
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
Raw Video: Tornado Appears During Wedding
Raw Video: Passed Out Man Robbed
Inquiry Hears Wider Secret Service Misbehavior
HP to Cut 27,000 Jobs, Save Up to $3.5B
