FedEx driver arrested after body found of missing 7-year-old Athena Strand
A FedEx driver was in custody Saturday in connection with the disappearance and death of Athena Strand, a missing 7-year-old girl who was found dead three days after vanishing from her Texas home.
Tanner Horner, 31, faces charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping and was being held in the Wise County Jail on $1.5 million bond, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. Authorities discovered the girl’s remains just outside the city of Boyd on Friday after she was reported missing by her stepmother earlier this week.
Strand returned to her Paradise home after school Wednesday and was alone with her stepmother, authorities said. By 6:40 p.m., the girl had vanished, spawning a desperate days-long search effort that included 200 volunteers from the community.
Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin told reporters Friday that Horner delivered a package to Strand’s home around the same time she was discovered missing.
“We do have a confession,” Akin said .
Authorities did not reveal a motive and did not say how the child died.
FexEx in a statement said it is cooperating with the investigation.
“Words cannot describe our shock at the reports surrounding this tragic event,” the company said. “First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family during this most difficult time, and we continue to cooperate fully with the investigating authorities.”
