Found Deceased TX - Athena Strand, 7, last seen at home, 200 block County Rd 3573, Paradise, 30 Nov 2022

[Molly's Mom]

With FBI being there could they have tracked someone’s phone pings to that area? Don’t really understand why FBI is involved at this point.

Kidnapping is a federal crime, has been since the Lindbergh Law was enacted back in the 1920s. The FBI is also likely involved because of the Amber Alert and the ease of crossing state lines.

 

[sf618b]

My 3rd daughter turned 7 yesterday, and none of this makes a lick of sense. This is giving me Gannon Stauch vibes.

Who in their right mind leaves a 7 year old like that? Also, she had an argument with her stepmother. Uh, what? This child is 7. And I have a spicy 7 year old. She is not out of my sight ever.

All of this is very bizarre, and that baby has been missing since 30 Nov. <modsnip> IMHO, but I fear the worst.

 

[mrsmmm]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02dVYtt89kEu1DW9v1GwJg9UCAxhaQnCFZEpxq93fpEJWUgSjZro75K2yFGE3nnywQl&id=100057777353954&sfnsn=mo&mibextid=RUbZ1f

Quick update on the #AthenaStrand investigation.

As of typing this, it's 8:25 PM Friday.

After the sheriff's press conference today, our crew went to CR 4599 due to a heavy police presence that included Wise County SO, DPS, and the FBI.

Neighbors say police started to search the area between 3 and 4 PM.

We arrived around 5:30 PM and were told not to interrupt what was happening. No one from law enforcement told us what was going on.

Around 7PM, the road cleared out. DPS and SO left the area.

We spoke to Sheriff Akin shortly after that.

I asked him if anyone has been *detained in connection to Strand's disappearance and why they were on that road.

He couldn't comment on the investigation at this time.

The sheriff didn't explain what was happening in that area or if anything had been found concerning the investigation.

Still waiting for an official update from the sheriff. He wasn't dodging us by any means--he's simply got a lot on his plate at the moment.

Please keep your prayers up for this little girl and those looking for her. I'll provide more when I can.

We're live at SO incident command at 10 on WFAA.

 

[LSJ747]

7 year olds don’t “run away” this long and if there is a “history” of a child that young running away that raises red flags for me.

Two things:
What adult gets into an argument with a seven year old?
When I was seven I didn’t argue with any adults and my kids at seven didn’t argue with me.
Secondly, I just read somewhere that her Gramma lives next door?
These two things are just stuck in my craw.

 

[SMK777]

Also, she had an argument with her stepmother. Uh, what? This child is 7. And I have a spicy 7 year old. She is not out of my sight ever.

Right, one doesn’t argue with a 7 year old as if you’re arguing with a spouse or equal. The parent should be mindful of the vulnerability of the child. It does definitely give off the Gannon Stauch aura.

 

[SMK777]

What adult gets into an argument with a seven year old?

ABSOLUTELY. Red flag.

 

[Erutan]

Two things:
What adult gets into an argument with a seven year old?
When I was seven I didn’t argue with any adults and my kids at seven didn’t argue with me.
Secondly, I just read somewhere that her Gramma lives next door?
These two things are just stuck in my craw.

Welcome to Websleuths !!!

Secondly, agreed 100 % regarding an argument with a seven year old ; who then goes missing.


I am still unclear about where exactly grandma lives in relation to Athena's house ?
M00.

 

[Erutan]

What about getting Tim Miller's Equusearch there to help search ?

 

[DeDee]

This is what I've got. Suggestions appreciated.

Athena got off the school bus at 4:15.
Her father was not home as he'd "gone hunting."
Athena and her step mom had a disagreement.
The step mom prepares dinner.
Athena was missing when the step mom went to get her.
Step mom contacts the father who turns his truck around near Fort Worth.
At 6:30, after an hour of fruitless searching for Athena, the authorities are contacted.


One problem I have with the timeline is that Paradise is only an hour's drive to Fort Worth.

 

[katydid23]

This is what I've got. Suggestions appreciated.

Athena got off the school bus at 4:15.
Her father was not home as he'd "gone hunting."
Athena and her step mom had a disagreement.
The step mom prepares dinner.
Athena was missing when the step mom went to get her.
Step mom contacts the father who turns his truck around near Fort Worth.
At 6:30, after an hour of fruitless searching for Athena, the authorities are contacted.


One problem I have with the timeline is that Paradise is only an hour's drive to Fort Worth.

View attachment 384607

Who else saw Athena between 4:15 and 5:30? Anyone else?

 

[404error]

Welcome to Websleuths !!!

Secondly, agreed 100 % regarding an argument with a seven year old ; who then goes missing.


I am still unclear about where exactly grandma lives in relation to Athena's house ?
M00.

Not sure but good question. Would she have to cross a road or walk along a trail to get to grandmas house? If she was heading towards the grandmother’s house then the scent dogs would have indicated that.

 

[sf618b]

Right, one doesn’t argue with a 7 year old as if you’re arguing with a spouse or equal. The parent should be mindful of the vulnerability of the child. It does definitely give off the Gannon Stauch aura.

For context, my girl rarely gets BIG mad and will stomp off and slam her door. Literally at the most, not without tears, but she would never ever leave the house.

Does anyone know how long dad and step mom have been married?

 

[whitelilac]

Not sure but good question. Would she have to cross a road or walk along a trail to get to grandmas house? If she was heading towards the grandmother’s house then the scent dogs would have indicated that.

Right.
Scent dogs only indicated "around the house" and "to the road" (presumably where the bus lets her off at that intersection between the road and the private drive)

 

[T4Tide]

I wish I knew more about the “argument” and what the stepmom considers an argument? For example, a child says “I’m going to play outside” or “I’m going next door to so and so’s house” or “I’m watching YouTube” etc and a parent says “No, you are doing your homework, cleaning your room, etc, before you do any of that.” Child complains, pitches a fit, gets sent to their room to do homework. My daughter is 8 and has nightly math, reading for 30 min, and sometimes a worksheet. She doesn’t always want to do it, either, but I wouldn’t consider my parenting of her an “argument.” So what was the subject of the disagreement??

 

[Yemelyan]

With FBI being there could they have tracked someone’s phone pings to that area? Don’t really understand why FBI is involved at this point.

The FBI has several rapid response teams that can deploy whenever a child goes mysteriously missing. Even if abduction is not known or confirmed yet, if the missing person is "of tender years," generally defined as 12 or under, the FBI team can serve as boots on the ground to make sure the investigation is running smoothly and every resource is utilized. This is an FBI article about it: New Child Abduction Teams

 

[Erutan]

Not sure but good question. Would she have to cross a road or walk along a trail to get to grandmas house? If she was heading towards the grandmother’s house then the scent dogs would have indicated that.

Welcome to Websleuths as well !
Seeing some new faces this month.

Good question about the trail Athena would have taken and the scent trail.

<modsnip>
M00.

Eta : Here are the links from page 15, post # 286; to the post about the dogs :

Found Deceased - TX - Athena Strand, 7, last seen at home, 200 block County Rd 3573, Paradise, 30 Nov 2022

Have they searched thoroughly inside the house? attic, basement, crawl spaces, hiding spots, freezers etc? He did say "under the house" though.

www.websleuths.com

• "...Search and rescue team 1 had canine teams working all night trying to pick up a scent; they picked up a short trail around the house and to the road, but nothing after..."

Snipped for focus.

And from page 13 , post # 241 :

Found Deceased - TX - Athena Strand, 7, last seen at home, 200 block County Rd 3573, Paradise, 30 Nov 2022

Craig Johnston - Chief Deputy: Transition is due, in part to, over 300 people who searched. They covered a vast amount of area and talked to people more quickly than normally.

www.websleuths.com

Two dog teams caught her trail around house but no further overnight Wednesday into Thursday



And also two msm links mentioning the use of the dogs :

Con helicóptero y decenas de voluntarios buscan a niña desaparecida en Paradise, Texas

Athena Strand, de 7 años, tiene casi 24 horas perdida, tras salir de la casa de su padre en Paradise, Texas. La mamá llamó a las 6:40 pm a la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Wise para reportar que la menor había salido y no había regresado. Se emitió una Alerta Amber.

www.univision.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1598473919312416770

Here is the link to the presser that was recapped in this thread , in post # 286, page 15 :

Athena Strand found dead after being kidnapped by delivery driver: Wise County sheriff

The sheriff says a tip led them to a FedEx driver, who is believed to have abducted Athena from her home Wednesday night. The driver confessed to kidnapping her. Athena likely died an hour after her disappearance, the sheriff said.

www.fox4news.com

I believe LE are sure she didn't wander away into the woods, based on the dog's search results ?
Imo.

 

[BeckyF]

What about getting Tim Miller's Equusearch there to help search ?

From what I understand LE has to contact Texas Equusearch and request that they get involved. But I agree it is a good idea.

Request Our Help - Texas EquuSearch Search And Recovery

This form is intended to be completed by family or those with personal knowledge of the missing person. Although we make every effort to assist families and

texasequusearch.org

 

[Erutan]

I wish I knew more about the “argument” and what the stepmom considers an argument? For example, a child says “I’m going to play outside” or “I’m going next door to so and so’s house” or “I’m watching YouTube” etc and a parent says “No, you are doing your homework, cleaning your room, etc, before you do any of that.” Child complains, pitches a fit, gets sent to their room to do homework. My daughter is 8 and has nightly math, reading for 30 min, and sometimes a worksheet. She doesn’t always want to do it, either, but I wouldn’t consider my parenting of her an “argument.” So what was the subject of the disagreement??

I have a vision in my head of a punishment that turned into some type of physical altercation ?
Or a shouting match ?
Athena's dad might have some insight, since we really don't know.

Also I want to know more about her wandering off before, and how accurate this is ?
If Athena had run away before, what type of event precipitated it ?
Imo.

 

[iamnotagolem]

I don't know why I started following another missing young child, I just feel sad.

 

[cuffem]

I wish I knew more about the “argument” and what the stepmom considers an argument? For example, a child says “I’m going to play outside” or “I’m going next door to so and so’s house” or “I’m watching YouTube” etc and a parent says “No, you are doing your homework, cleaning your room, etc, before you do any of that.” Child complains, pitches a fit, gets sent to their room to do homework. My daughter is 8 and has nightly math, reading for 30 min, and sometimes a worksheet. She doesn’t always want to do it, either, but I wouldn’t consider my parenting of her an “argument.” So what was the subject of the disagreement??

Whenever the last person to see a missing person suggest an argument, to me that almost seems as victim blaming in away. Like the victim was doing something negative and left therefore caused their own predicament. DYKWIM?
I am not sure I am wording my thoughts correctly but it is just a thought.