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On December 5, Tuesday, East Texans wore pink in honor of Athena Strand, a 7-year-old girl who was abducted and killed in Wise County on November 30.
As per Sheriff Lane Akin, Athena Strand was last seen in her Paradise Home at about 5.40 pm last Wednesday, before she was allegedly abducted by 31-year-old Tanner Lynn Horner, a contractor for FedEx who had been delivering a package to her home. Wise County authorities believe Horner killed Strand within an hour of the abduction.
On December 2, Texans were shocked to discover Athena Strand's body being recovered near the Trinity River, close to Boyd. CBS reported that officials involved in the case requested that locals wear pink in the young girl's memory.
Texans mourn the death of Athena Strand
In an official statement, Wise County Judge J.D Clark released a statement about the death of Athena Strand. The Judge urged Texans to wear pink on Monday, noting that it was the 7-year-old's favorite color.
He said:
"My heart is so heavy about Athena. Additionally, I encourage everyone to join me at 6.30pm on Monday on the Courthouse steps to pray for Athena, her family, our first responders and our community."
Rod Townsend, Superintendent of the Paradise Independent School District, also acknowledged the kidnapping and murder in a Facebook post. Townsend said:
“We lost a precious member of our student body. Athena Strand was tragically lost this past week. This world will forever be different because she wasn’t allowed to grow and develop into the precious young lady she was meant to be.”
Strand's biological mother, Maitlyn Presley Gandy, also wrote about the tragedy on Facebook.
Her post read:
“(Athena was) innocent, beautiful, kind, intelligent, and just the brightest, happiest soul you could ever meet."
It continued:
“I want everyone to know, every single person in this world, that this is my baby and my baby was taken from me. I want everyone to know her face and her voice and just how wonderful of a person she is."
As per CNN, several Texans are taking part in the initiative to pay tribute to the young girl. Tammy Natusch, a Texas resident whose granddaughter attends elementary school, made a shirt for her that paid tribute to Strand.
Natusch told CNN reporters:
“This horrific act was less than 20 (minutes) from my house."
The tributes to Strand persisted after December 5, with the town of Weatherford setting up a Christmas Tree and prayer vigil in light of the young girl's death. Maitlyn Gandy acknowledged the gesture.
She wrote on Facebook:
"I would also like to thank the town of Weatherford (...) for lighting a pink Christmas tree for Athena. I know I told everyone pink is her favorite color but also, her favorite holiday is Christmas and I can't tell you how excited she was and how much she was looking forward to Christmas and coming home in a couple weeks."
CBS reported that more than 20 school districts have taken part in the effort to acknowledge the young girl's death.
