The state of Texas appears set to change its AMBER Alert system after it failed to help Athena Strand, a 7-year-old girl who was kidnapped and strangled to death last November.
Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, was arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in Strand’s death. Horner is currently being held in Wise County Jail on $1.5 million bail as prosecutors seek the death penalty.
Lone Star State lawmakers voted Wednesday to approve a new version of the state’s AMBER Alert System, called “The Athena Alert Bill,” spearheaded by State Rep. Lynn Stucky .
The new law would allow authorities to notify people within a 100-mile radius of a missing child as soon as they are reported missing.
At the time of Strand’s disappearance, she did not meet the state’s criteria for an alert, which includes a preliminary investigation and law enforcement being able to determine that the child is in “immediate danger.”
The state of Texas appears set to change its AMBER Alert system after it failed to help Athena Strand, a 7-year-old girl who was kidnapped and strangled to death last November.
Athena’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy, testified in favor of the law and believes it could have helped save her daughter’s life.
“If this alert had been in place when my daughter went missing, I have no doubt the Wise County Sheriff’s Office would have activated it,” Gandy said in a statement after the bill passed.
“Unfortunately, their hands were tied because my daughter’s disappearance did not immediately meet the strict criteria for a statewide AMBER Alert. It was a feeling of helplessness that I wouldn’t wish on any parent. I hope every state will follow Texas’ lead and change the law so that no other parent has to wait for their child to go missing.
Wise County Sheriff Lane Aiken appreciated the efforts of Gandy and State Rep. Lynn Stucky to get the bill passed.
“With his adoption, law enforcement will be able to make a local judgment and send an alert that could help bring a child home to his parents,” Akin said. HuffPo.
“I hope we never need to make that judgment, but if it happens again and if it’s decided, we have an additional tool to help us find a missing child.”
The legislation must be signed into law by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott before it can take effect.
Horner pleaded not guilty in Wise County in March. District Attorney James Stainton has filed court documents in federal court telling the judge he will seek the death penalty against Horner if he is convicted of capital murder.
Wise Lane County Sheriff Aiken spoke out in favor of the new system
Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, was arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in Strand’s death. Horner is currently being held in Wise County Jail on $1.5million bail as prosecutors seek the death penalty
Athena’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy, testified in favor of the law and believes it could have helped save her daughter’s life
“If this alert had been in place when my daughter went missing, I have no doubt the Wise County Sheriff’s Office would have activated it,” Gandy said in a statement after the bill passed.
Horner was arrested on December 2, 2022 the same day Athena’s body was found.
He confessed to police that he accidentally hit Strand with his delivery van while delivering Christmas presents to the house. He then panicked and put the little girl inside his vehicle and strangled her to death.
According to an autopsy, Strand had blunt force injuries to his head and neck and evidence of suffocation and strangulation. His death was ruled a homicide.
On February 17, a Wise County jury formally charged Horner with kidnapping and murdering the girl.
Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin said prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against Horner.
Lone Star State lawmakers voted on Wednesday approving a localized version of the AMBER Alert system that has been called “The Athena Alert Bill,” spearheaded by state Rep. Lynn Stucky
Horner was arrested on December 2, 2022 the same day Athena’s body was found
Athena was abducted from her father’s home in Paradise, Texas on Nov. 30 by FedEx driver Tanner Horner, police say.
Horner was charged with sexually assaulting a child nearly a decade ago and faces three more counts of sexually abusing a child in 2013 in Fort Worth. He is being held in jail on $1.5 million bail.
Athena’s father, Jacob Strand, filed a lawsuit against FedEx, claiming they didn’t do enough background checks before hiring Horner.
“I support the death penalty. In any condemnation that may come,’ Gandy said WFAA.
“Every breath he takes is a breath my daughter doesn’t.
Gandy previously said she wishes he had just gone and let her daughter walk.
“We are very forgiving people,” she said.
“If Athena hadn’t been hurt or even had a few bumps and scrapes, he could have just walked away. We could have forgiven him.
“Accidents happen, but he chose to do more – and what he did was unforgivable.”
“I find it hard to believe Athena couldn’t have walked away. Athena could have walked away, and I wish he’d let her.
According to the arrest affidavit, Horner said Strand was not seriously injured when he hit her with his pickup truck.
Athena Strand, 7, was kidnapped and strangled on November 30, 2022 by a contracted FedEx employee delivering gifts to her family home in North Texas
Maitlyn Gandy posted photos of her daughter Athena’s pink coffin on her Facebook page
Horner was charged with sexually assaulting a child nearly a decade ago and faces three more counts of sexually abusing a child in 2013 in Fort Worth.
Gandy says she still mourns her daughter while trying to take care of her other young child, Rilyn.
“I check my doors three times every night and hug my three-year-old tighter. I’m afraid to let her go. It’s all just very, very scary and very, very sad,” Gandy said in tears.
“It’s been hard on our family. For my other three-year-old. She can’t understand why she can’t call sissy or why she hasn’t come home yet. It’s been a long time since she didn’t see his sister,” she explains.
‘We manage. We try to operate. It was a long time ago. Difficult but very chaotic at the same time.
‘I’m sad. I’m mad. I’m confused. I am doing my best.
“I was very scared and I don’t sleep very often or for a long time. The noises of the night frighten me.
