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Cops: Body in Ga. landfill is missing girl, 7
NBC News and news services
updated 2 hours, 30 minutes ago
ORANGE PARK, Fla. - A child's body found in a Georgia landfill has been identified as missing 7-year-old Somer Thompson, police said Thursday.
The partially covered body of the child was found at a site near the Florida state line, after investigators followed garbage trucks leaving from the neighborhood where Thompson disappeared Monday.
Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler told NBC's "TODAY" show that a birthmark and clothing had helped detectives confirm the child's identity.
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"Last night about 9 p.m., detectives were able to uncover the body enough to see the leg of the child," Beseler said. "The birthmark did positively match the one that had been provided to us in a photograph by the family. Based on that tentative identification, we went ahead and contacted Somer’s mom and made the notification last night."
The sheriff said he told the girl's mother to prepare for the worst, and called her after receiving the news Wednesday night.
"Needless to say, she was absolutely devastated," he said. "It was the hardest phone call I've ever had to make in my life, and I hope I never have to make another one like that."
The girl's family was "torn up" after hearing the news, aunt Laura Holt said.
She hopes authorities will find her niece's killer or killers. "I don't think they deserve to live," Holt said. "I don't think there's anything worse that a person can do — to kill a child and dump her ... like a piece of trash?"
Beseler said he was unable to comment on the condition of the body or about whether there were signs of sexual assault.
'Child killer on the loose'
"Until yesterday afternoon, we were in a search and recovery mode and now we’re in a full-blown criminal investigation," Beseler said. "There are lots of leads we're following.
"There is a child killer on the loose and that's why we are going to catch this person," he added. "We are going to work as hard as we can. We will not stop."
Thompson vanished on her mile-long walk home from school Monday in Orange Park. 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.
Click for related content
Newsweek: What about these missing women?
Police searched through 100 tons of garbage before finding the body on Wednesday.
Beseler credited one of his detectives with suggesting on Tuesday that the landfill should be checked. Trucks were scheduled to pick up garbage in Orange Park on Tuesday morning. He said detectives were told to go through the debris looking for evidence as the trucks brought it in.
"Had we not done that, tons of garbage would have been distributed over the top of the body, and it likely would have never been found," he told ABC's "Good Morning America."
"Now that we know the body has been discovered there may be something that triggers someone's mind," Beseler said.
An FBI forensic unit is helping process evidence from the landfill. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation planned an autopsy Thursday.
NBC News and news services
updated 2 hours, 30 minutes ago
ORANGE PARK, Fla. - A child's body found in a Georgia landfill has been identified as missing 7-year-old Somer Thompson, police said Thursday.
The partially covered body of the child was found at a site near the Florida state line, after investigators followed garbage trucks leaving from the neighborhood where Thompson disappeared Monday.
Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler told NBC's "TODAY" show that a birthmark and clothing had helped detectives confirm the child's identity.
Story continues below ↓
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
advertisement | your ad here
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Last night about 9 p.m., detectives were able to uncover the body enough to see the leg of the child," Beseler said. "The birthmark did positively match the one that had been provided to us in a photograph by the family. Based on that tentative identification, we went ahead and contacted Somer’s mom and made the notification last night."
The sheriff said he told the girl's mother to prepare for the worst, and called her after receiving the news Wednesday night.
"Needless to say, she was absolutely devastated," he said. "It was the hardest phone call I've ever had to make in my life, and I hope I never have to make another one like that."
The girl's family was "torn up" after hearing the news, aunt Laura Holt said.
She hopes authorities will find her niece's killer or killers. "I don't think they deserve to live," Holt said. "I don't think there's anything worse that a person can do — to kill a child and dump her ... like a piece of trash?"
Beseler said he was unable to comment on the condition of the body or about whether there were signs of sexual assault.
'Child killer on the loose'
"Until yesterday afternoon, we were in a search and recovery mode and now we’re in a full-blown criminal investigation," Beseler said. "There are lots of leads we're following.
"There is a child killer on the loose and that's why we are going to catch this person," he added. "We are going to work as hard as we can. We will not stop."
Thompson vanished on her mile-long walk home from school Monday in Orange Park. 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.
Click for related content
Newsweek: What about these missing women?
Police searched through 100 tons of garbage before finding the body on Wednesday.
Beseler credited one of his detectives with suggesting on Tuesday that the landfill should be checked. Trucks were scheduled to pick up garbage in Orange Park on Tuesday morning. He said detectives were told to go through the debris looking for evidence as the trucks brought it in.
"Had we not done that, tons of garbage would have been distributed over the top of the body, and it likely would have never been found," he told ABC's "Good Morning America."
"Now that we know the body has been discovered there may be something that triggers someone's mind," Beseler said.
An FBI forensic unit is helping process evidence from the landfill. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation planned an autopsy Thursday.
