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Three days after the body of 7-year-old Athena Strand was found seven miles away from her North Texas home, a GoFundMe page launched to support the young girl's family in these difficult times has raised more than $17,000.
As the community mourns the loss of Athena Strand, a young girl reported missing on November 30, her small, tight-knit community has banded together to help her family cover legal bills. The crowdfunding page aims to raise $20,000.
As per the fundraising page, the family hopes to seek justice for the death of their daughter, who was abducted and killed by Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, a FedEx truck driver, near her home. The statement read:
“Our goal is to support Athena’s family in any way we can. The family will be seeking justice for their little girl. This will cover attorney fees, bills while the family is on a leave of absence and cannot work, and anything else that will help them attempt to recover in this horrific time in their lives.”
Athena Strand's neighbors decorate the town in pink
Beloved by her community, several people have since come together to support the devastated family by decorating the streets with pink ribbons and balloons in memory of the young girl, who loved that color. As per CBS, on Monday, more than 25 local school districts asked staff and students to wear the color pink in support of the Strand family.
Rod Townsend, the superintendent of Paradise ISD, the district where Athena went to elementary school, told CBS that the school had provided counselors for students grieving the death of one of their students. In a statement to the news outlet, Townsend said:
"We want to be respectful and let family and friends work through this horrible tragedy."
Athena Strand, who was reported missing by her stepmother on Wednesday, November 30, was found dead seven miles from her home in Cottondale, Texas, on December 2. Her father was reportedly away on a hunting trip at the time.
Heather King, a neighbor of the Strand family who traveled around town on Sunday, December 4, adorning the neighborhood in pink in memory of the young girl, told CBS:
"We just wanted to show support for the Strand family. It's a tight-knit community around here. Even though it's one town over, we're all family."
King added:
"We're gonna focus on her and the good things and the love that she brought and we're not gonna focus on the tragedy."
Athena Strand was reportedly visiting Texas after her birth mother, Maitlyn Gandy, who lives in southern Oklahoma, allowed her to spend the fall semester with her father and stepmother.
Tanner Lynn Horner, a FedEx truck driver, confessed to abducting and killing Athena Strand and was charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping.
If you wish to donate, here's the link to the fundraising page.
