ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- Twenty-four hours after a 7-year-old failed to come home from school, helicopters, bloodhounds and mounted deputies joined a least one hundred law enforcement personnel and an untold number of citizens in a massive search for the girl.
An Amber Alert was issued about 9 a.m. Tuesday for Somer Renee Thompson, who was reported missing from her Grove Park neighborhood of Orange Park. At an afternoon briefing, Clay County investigators for the first time called Somer endangered and said "We do suspect foul play."
Somer was last seen walking home from school about 2:45 p.m. Monday.
"We're hoping for the best, but we're working as if it is a crime scene." Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said Tuesday morning. "Time is of the essence. Every moment that goes by is not in our favor. That's why the push is so hard."
Somer is described as 3 feet 5 inches tall and 65 pounds with brown hair in a pony tail with a red bow. She was last seen wearing a cranberry-colored sweatsuit with pink stripe on the sleeve and pants. She also had a black, pink and white backpack with a skull and hearts. She may be wearing a white hat and scarf.
Clay County Tip Line: 877-227-6911 or
[email protected]
Deputies said the second-grader was last seen at 2:45 p.m. walking home from Grove Park Elementary School near West Gano Avenue and Debarry Avenue with her twin brother and her sister. Authorities were told she ran ahead of them after "a childhood squabble" with her twin brother.
Map: Missing Orange Park girl
When Somer wasn't home by 4 p.m., her mother called police.
Uncut Video: Sheriff Talks About Search For Somer
Beseler said deputies were out all night using infrared cameras and dog teams to search the wooded areas. Beseler said when deputies finished interviewing the 58 registered sex offenders within three miles of where Somer disappeared; they expanded the search to a five-mile radius.
Beseler said some of his deputies who were ending their shifts Monday when Somer was reported missing Monday afternoon were still actively searching at midday Tuesday. By 4 p.m. crews were transitioning to a 12-hour rotation.
People showing up to help
Hundreds of civilians showed in Orange Park up to see how they could help in the search for Somer.
IMAGES:
100s Search For Missing Girl
Tuesday morning, teams search wooded areas within the one-mile radius for a second time as well as searching a larger area.
"We still don't have any indication that is an abduction, but working on the assumption that a 7-year-old would not be gone for this length of time, we have been able to meet the criteria for an Amber Alert notification," Beseler said.
The girl's father lives in North Carolina and has been contacted.
Beseler is asking residents in the Grove Park area to look through their yards, parked cars and adjacent properties. He asked if you see anything unusual, including a backpack, clothing or shoes, to not pick them up, but call the sheriff's office at 904-264-6512 or call 911.
Beseler asked that volunteers not go into wooded areas before they can search them with dogs looking for the girl's scent.
[Somer Renee Thompson]
Somer Renee Thompson
Deputies and detectives from every branch of the Clay County Sheriff's Office -- about 100 personnel -- were looking for Somer. Additional support is also being provided by the St. Johns and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The FBI has also assigned a member to assist Clay County, along with staff from the FDLE.
At daylight Tuesday, a helicopter with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission joined the search efforts.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office has utilized reverse 911 as well as the school system's automated phone message system to get information about Somer to as many households as possible as quickly as possible.
Dozens, perhaps hundreds of neighbors and citizens from as far away as Jacksonville and Middleburg were passing out fliers and showing up at the sheriff's office command post at Orange Park Junior High School at 1500 Gano Ave. to see how they can help.
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