Somer Thompson update: picturing clues, cops sketch murder victim's unrecovered school bags

November 8, 5:22 AMTrue Crime ExaminerIvy Bigbee

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Have you seen these pictured bags? Murder victim Somer Thompson, 7, was carrying the round, zippered lunch box with pink pig design (above, left) and book tote, featuring skull, stars and hearts motif (above, right), when she was abducted in Orange Park, Florida on 10/19/09. Neither bag has turned up since Somer's body was recovered on 10/21 from a regional landfil.                                                   

                                                                        (Clay County, FL police sketch, styled/bigbee)       

ORANGE PARK   In the Somer Thompson abduction/murder, Clay County (Florida) police seek to learn if anyone has seen 2 pink-colored totes (pictured above) belonging to the 7-year-old girl, who disappeared in Orange Park on Oct.19, '09, during her afternoon walk home from school.

Drawing on what little they know of Somer's killer, police took sketches to the airwaves, to portray events surrounding Somer's shocking abduction/murder on "America's Most Wanted."  The previously-unannounced clues depict lunch and tote bags Somer was carrying at the time of her disappearance.

On the afternoon of her sudden, mid-fall vanishing, Somer Thompson was last seen in the vicinity of Gano Avenue, in the North Florida suburb of Jacksonville. She had been walking with her siblings, but ran ahead and never arrived home.

Tragically, her missing status changed on the third day, when Somer's body--but not either missing tote--was uncovered in a regional landfill on Oct. 21.

The "America's Most Wanted" 11/07 broadcast featured host John Walsh's interview with Sheriff Rick Beseler, who is heading a multi-agency team aiming to find Somer's murderer.

In previous efforts to identify Somer's killer, on Oct. 28, Sheriff Beseler also released a list of specific behavioral activities and appearance changes the yet-identified individual may be manifesting; the list includes small scratches and facial or hairstyle modifications signaling physical changes in the person.

Psychologically speaking, the killer may demonstrate a fascination or preoccupation with the ongoing investigation, Sheriff Beseler stated in the description he provided to the public.

As the child homicide's intense investigation reaches its third week, Sheriff Beseler also related on the show that no substantial leads have resulted from the 3,000 tips he and his agency have acquired since Somer's body was found.

After body was taken to Savannah, Georgia for examination, although the autopsy had been completed, the manner and cause of Somer Thompson's death was not revealed, to best serve the investigation.

Hoping their sketches might point the way, police urge anyone who may have seen the pink book bag and round lunch tote--or if they possess additional information in the girl's slaying-- to contact Clay County (Florida)  police, via telephone or email (below).

Meanwhile, a Jacksonville victims' advocacy group, First Coast Crime Stoppers, has established a reward--now at $45,000--to aid Somer Thompson's family.

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

Email:  cart@claysheriff.com