Somer Thompson's killer still unnamed; 'dedicated' cops sort 'workable' leads from almost 3,000 tips

November 4, 10:49 PMTrue Crime ExaminerIvy Bigbee

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 Somer Thompson, 7 (family photo)

ORANGE PARK  Somer Thompson's killer remains unnamed, as Clay County (Florida) police continue to sift "workable" leads from 2,800 tips they have received as of 11/4.

During today's media briefing, police spokesperson Mary Justino related that the "multi-agency effort continues as detectives follow up on all the workable leads that remain."

  Mary Justino, Clay County (FL) Sheriff's Office spokesperson

Expressing the agency's request for ongoing cooperation, Justino added, "we remain dedicated to finding the person who killed Somer, and still encourage members of the community to contact the tip line (below) with any information they feel may be helpful."

Somer was a first-grade student at Grove Park Elementary in Orange Park. She vanished during a walk home from school on Monday, Oct. 19. The girl--who had been in the company of twin brother, Sam, and their elder sister--ran ahead of her siblings, and never arrived at their house, according to her mother, Diena Thompson, 34. Thompson filed a missing persons report with Orange Park law enforcement later that afternoon. 
 

Police began searching neighborhood-specific landfills, in probes that resulted in the grim discovery of the girl's remains, on the third day after she went missing. 

After Somer's body was recovered on 10/21 from a Georgia landfill some distance from the Jacksonville suburb, a stunned and angry north Florida community showed its grief and support during the girl's heavily-attended memorial service on 10/27.

In sweeping efforts to apprehend Somer Thompson's killer, Clay County Sheriff, Rick Beseler met yesterday with an "America's Most Wanted" show production crew. 

Somer Thompson's murder case will be spotlighted during the Saturday 11/7 edition of the widely-viewed crime-fighting series, hosted by John Walsh. Harnessing his energies to effect anti-crime legislation and via the media, since 1991, Walsh has become a tireless advocate for the country's missing and murdered.  

In 1981, Walsh and his wife, Reve, lost their son, Adam, in an abduction-murder that began in a Hollywood (Florida) Sears store. In 2008, Adam's murder was formally attributed to Ottis Toole, a Florida serial killer who confessed, but was never tried for the crime, then died in 1996.

In the case of the slain little girl--dubbed a "community hugger" by her church minister--Clay County law enforcement, working with "America's Most Wanted," aims to intensify the hunt for Somer's killer.  

Along with Sheriff Beseler, John Walsh theorizes Somer's killer could be a pedophile serial murderer who may have re-emerged from a "dormant period," and who may be responsible for the previous disappearances of 4 additional children. Those cases remain open. 

"America's Most Wanted" airs Saturday, 11/7, 9 PM EST (8 CST) on FOX.

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Clay County (Florida) Sheriff's Office telephone tips line:  1-877-227-6911

Email:  cart@claysheriff.com