Detectives hone in on house for clues

ORANGE PARK - The Georgia Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday also confirmed the body found in a Georgia landfill is missing 7-year-old Somer Thompson.

The medical examiner confirmed her identity through dental records. Authorities are not releasing the cause of death, or any other information about the autopsy.

Thompson's partially-covered body was found in the landfill in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida state line yesterday, after investigators tracked garbage trucks leaving the neighborhood where Thompson disappeared on her way home from school Monday.

Clay County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Mary Justino said late Thursday afternoon that investigators have zeroed in on an abandoned home that they say was the last location where Somer was seen.

The house is 500 to 600 yards away from a school, and the spokeswoman said it corresponded with information from witnesses.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has a forensics team scouring the house for clues.

Investigators still do not have a suspect in the case, but said they have several leads.

They say they have located all but five registered sex offenders in the area, and that process was continuing. Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show 161 offenders live in a 5-mile radius of Somer's home.

Sheriff confirmed identity this morning

Earlier this morning, Sheriff Rick Beseler announced a birthmark on the body matched Thompson, and said he notified the girl's family last night.

"We were able to make positive identification," Beseler said. "The birthmark evidence on the lower extremity of the child along with some clothing items that the child was wearing."

"There is a child killer on the loose, and that's why we're going to catch this person and bring him to justice," Beseler said.

Somer's father and other family members were "torn up" after hearing the news, aunt Laura Holt said. She hopes authorities will find her niece's killer.

"I don't think they deserve to live," Holt said. "I don't think there's anything worse that a person can do—to kill a child and dump her in the dump like a piece of trash?"

Beseler wouldn't talk about what evidence police have recovered, or whether investigators believe the crime was committed by one or more people.

"I fear for our community until we bring this person in. This is a heinous crime that's been committed," Beseler said. "And we're going to work as hard as we can to make this community safe."

Neighborhood, community in mourning

Two deputies stood guard at mother Diena Thompson's home early Thursday morning. It appeared to be full of supporters.

An oak tree across the street was decorated with flowers, candles and pictures of Somer.

"This has been so unreal for the neighborhood," said Sharon Galloway, who lives across the street from the Thompsons. "I just hope they get that son of a gun and tie him up by his short hairs."

An FBI forensic unit is helping process evidence from the landfill in Folkston, Ga., about 48 miles from where the girl disappeared.

Somer vanished on her mile-long walk home from school in Orange Park. She was squabbling with another child, and her sister told her to stop. The girl got upset, walked ahead of the group and wasn't seen again.

Authorities launched a countywide search involving helicopters, dogs and volunteers walking arm-to-arm through wooded areas.

Orange Park is a suburb of Jacksonville just south of Jacksonville Naval Air Station. The area where the girl disappeared is a heavily populated residential area with homes, apartment complexes and condominiums.

Grief counselors at Somer's school

The principal at Grove Park Elementary, where Somer went to school, said attendance has dropped by 50 percent since she disappeared.  Grief counselors were on hand today to help students.

"Our teachers are having students involved in making sympathy cards so they can feel like they're contributing and are able to express themselves a little bit, and their sorrow, and their care," Principal Lynda Braxton said. "Not only for Somer and her mother, but also for her siblings who have all gone to this school."

School officials also said they are taking extra precautions to ensure students' safety, but aren't saying exactly what those steps are.