An Egregious Tragedy Has Happened

Justice for Somer Thompson

This is a story of egregious tragedy, not only for the loved ones involved but for
all of us who exist in a social environment, infiltrated by
murderous monsters. This horror may not have happened if we all
considered our surroundings to be parallel to the darkness of
dense jungles where meat eaters lurk behind the thickness of
forestry waiting their next gorge. Without envisioning this
comparable, life appears orderly and free of danger.

Within the food chain, hunger is the motivator to kill. It's not called murder
but it is the same. Something must die in order to satisfy the
needs of a predator. When a youngling is cut away from the
protection of the herd, a beast of prey will spot, immediately
the vulnerability of this life form and direct all its attention
towards a capture. What happened to this child is the same. A
monster, perhaps not even on its usual hunt, zeroed in on a
little girl, alone, away from any protection and used its cunning
to lure her into its clutches.

It didn't happen to my child but it did, to someone who lived in my community. His name was Adam Walsh and he was a year younger than my own. The
Walsh's horrible story, could have been mine. I, many times
frequented the same place as Adam and his mom and I forever
shuddered to think it my child who was cut from the herd and open to attack.

We as a society should warn our children and ourselves that we are but one or two seconds from something so heinous that our lives would never
recover. Whenever our children leave the safety of our sight, we
should tell them, "Never allow a stranger to talk lies, in
order to hurt you. Scream, cry, run and fight if need be, not to
be taken by anyone.” Every child, every young person who
falls victim to the savages amongst us, must be a reminder that
we live in a jungle of predators but worse, these fiends look
like us, so we have to be even more vigilant than jungle prey. I
hope a capture will take place and we will have one less sick
degenerate on our streets. But realize, it will not make us safer
because somewhere there is another waiting, to take its place.
Always be aware, it really is a jungle out there and constantly
teach and learn this fact. thinkingblue

Justice for Somer Thompson: Predator May HaveKilled Before

The person who killed 7-year-old Somer Thompson may have
preyed on children before, making the search for the
second-grader's murderer that much more urgent, police say.

John Walsh weighs in on the search for 7-year old Somer
Thompson's killer.

More PhotosClay County authorities say they are running
frustratingly low on credible leads despite more than 1,000 tips
about Somer's kidnapping and murder. But "America's Most
Wanted" host John Walsh said county Sheriff Rick Beseler is
"looking very hard at certain people.

"The sheriff and I both feel that it's a predator who has
probably done it before," Walsh, who has been following
Somer's case since she disappeared last week, told "Good
Morning America" today.

He pointed to a string of four child disappearances in the
Jacksonville area about 20 years ago that has never been solved.

"I would hate to think this is a serial child killer who has
raised it's ugly head," Walsh said, noting that it's not
unusual for such a predator to come out of "retirement."

Somer disappeared Oct. 19 while walking home from school with
her twin brother and older sister, 10. She ran ahead after a
squabble with her siblings and vanished shortly after.

Somer's body was found Wednesday in a Georgia landfill after
detectives followed garbage trucks from Somer's Orange Park,
Fla., hometown in search of clues.

A public visitation will be held tonight, her funeral Tuesday.

Police say they've checked out nearly all the more than 90 sex
offenders living within a three-mile radius of Somer's home and
repeated searches of a vacant house near where the little girl
disappeared have not yet yielded any obvious clues.

Police are hoping that samples taken from the house and the
landfill where Somer's body was found will give investigators
something to go on.

"All I want is to happen is that my baby didn't die in vain
and we catch him," Somer's mother, Diena Thompson, said.

Walsh called Somer's killer a "cool, calculating
predator" who may strike again.

"People should be on high alert there because there is a
child killer at large," he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somer's Mother to Killer: 'We're Coming for You'

Indeed, neighborhood parents, many of whom attended fundraisers over the weekend for the Thompson family, are on edge, keeping a close eye on their children.

"When is this going to stop," area resident Lou
Ellen McGill said. "When are they going to leave our kids alone?"

Even at the fundraiser -- were several children were
fingerprinted as a precaution-- parents looked around nervously,
wondering if Somer's killer could be among them.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was here, that's how I
really feel about it," Amy Hand said.

Thompson told "Good Morning America" last week that
she wanted her daughter's killer to know one thing: "We're
coming for you.

"We'll get you," she said. "And, hopefully, justice will be served."

A preliminary autopsy has been completed, but Clay County
Sheriff spokeswoman Mary Justino declined to provide details on
the cause of death or the condition of the body.

Thompson said last week that she has been wracked by feelings of
guilt and responsibility for being at work when her youngest
daughter disappeared.

"I feel responsible," she said. " If I could have
just, I don't know, left work or something and been able to pick
her up, this wouldn't have happened."

And her surviving children are also struggling. Thompson said
she's afraid to let them out of her sight, lest it happen again.
They will be getting counseling after Somer's funeral, she said.

"They go through spurts, you know, they're kids," she
said. "One minute they're happy, and the next minute they're sad."

A group called Justice Coalition has put up a $30,000 reward for
information leading to the arrest and conviction of Somer's
killer. Some of that reward money came from Crimestoppers, which
urged anyone with information to call 866-845-TIPS. Callers can
remain anonymous.

Clay County police asked tipsters to call 877-227-6911.