Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin says officials found the body of 7-year-old Athena Strand
After more than two days of searching, Texas authorities found the body of missing 7-year-old Athena Strand, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin said during a press conference on Dec. 2, 2022. (KDFW)
The mother of a 7-year-old Texas girl who was found dead after being missing for several days last week is now speaking out in a series of emotional tributes, writing on her Facebook page that "No one deserves what happened to you."
Maitlyn Gandy made the comments after Athena Strand was discovered deceased in Boyd on Friday. Tanner Lynn Horner, a 30-year-old contract driver for FedEx, is charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in connection to Strand’s death.
"Daddy and mommy were scared of how beautiful she has always been and we feel like we failed you," Gandy wrote on Facebook alongside pictures of Strand. "No one deserves what happened to you, but especially you. I love you and love doesn’t even cover it. Mommy is broken without you."
In another post, Gandy described Athena Strand as "innocent, beautiful, kind, intelligent, and just the brightest, happiest soul you could ever meet.
ATHENA STRAND’S GRANDFATHER SAYS HE FORGAVE FEDEX DRIVER ACCUSED OF KIDNAPPING, MURDERING 7-YEAR-OLD
Athena Strand, 7, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by 30-year-old FedEx delivery driver Tanner Lynn Horner. (Wise County Sheriff's Office)
"I don’t want her to be the girl known as the one murdered and discarded by a monster," she added. "I want everyone to know, every single person in this world, that this is my baby and my baby was taken from me."
Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin described the girl’s abduction as a "crime of opportunity," explaining that Horner allegedly admitted to abducting Strand while delivering a package to her North Texas home on Wednesday. The girl’s stepmother reported her missing. Two days later, the girl’s body was found less than 10 miles from her father’s home. The suspect reportedly did not know the victim or the girl’s family.
Strand was reportedly staying with her father and stepmother in Texas before she was to return to her mother, Maitlyn Gandy, in Oklahoma around Christmas.
A photo of 7-year-old Athena Strand, whose body was found on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022. (White Settlement Police Department )
"It’s one of the toughest investigations I have been involved in because it’s a child," Akin said at a press conference late Friday night alongside Athena’s biological mother and other emergency response officials.
He added: "Any time there’s a child that dies it just hits you in your heart."
Authorities say the body of 7-year-old Athena Strand was found on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022. (Wise County Sheriff's Office)
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The motive for the crime has not been disclosed.
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
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