A FedEx driver was arrested and charged with kidnapping and killing a 7-year-old girl named Athena Strand in Texas. She had disappeared from her driveway earlier this week.
The body of Athena Strand was recovered Friday evening, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin announced at a news conference.
“It hurts our hearts to know that child died,” Akin said Friday.
It’s one of the toughest investigations I’ve ever been involved in because it involves a child. Whenever there’s a death of a child, it hits you in the heart no matter what, and this one is no different.
The authorities spent the week searching for a missing 8-year-old girl, Athena. They believe she was kidnapped from her family’s driveway and killed within an hour of her abduction.
Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, was arrested for capital murder and aggravated kidnapping. The Wise County jail is holding him on $1.5 million bond, as of Friday night. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney.
Authorities are alleging that Horner, a contract driver for FedEx, was making a delivery to Athena’s apartment when she disappeared.
Earlier on Friday, police say they received a tip from an anonymous caller that led them to arrest Horner for kidnapping.
Authorities did not specify a motive and said the suspect does not know the family or the child, according to Akin.
The cause of Athena’s death is being investigated and her body was transferred to the medical examiner’s office on Friday, which is when Akin made these comments.
In a statement to CNN, FedEx said it offered its sympathies and directed questions about the shooting to law enforcement.
“We are shocked and saddened by these developments. Our thoughts are with the Palm family at this difficult time, and we remain in complete cooperation with the authorities,” said Julie Berman, a spokeswoman for Myah Foods.
Source – CNN/3-12-2022 by Tina Burnside & Aya Elamroussi
