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Friday night, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin announced that they had recovered Athena Strand’s body after an Amber Alert. A contract Fed-Ex driver, Tanner Lynn Honer, 31, of Lake Worth, abducted the seven-year-old near her home. A tip led authorities to Horner, and Athena likely died within an hour of her abduction. Horner is in Wise County Jail on a $1.5 million bond charged with capital murder. They arrested Horner on CR 4599 in Wise County, about seven miles from where friends last saw Athena.
Tanner Lynn Horner
Sheriff Akin said the suspect, identified as Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, confessed to police to abducting and killing the seven-year-old girl. FedEx had contracted Horner to drive a truck, and he had been delivering a package to Strand’s family home when the abduction occurred.
He is from Lake Worth, about 30 miles south of where officials found Strand’s body. FBI Acting Agent in Charge Jim Dwyer said authorities believe Strand died only about an hour after being abducted based on digital evidence and statements gathered while interviewing Horner.
They said they had known that a FedEx driver visited the house the day Strand went missing but that the investigation pointed to Horner after a tip and good police work.
Horner is the lone suspect authorities believe responsible in the case, Akin said. He did not have any relation or connection to the family. Officials charged Horner with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, booked him into the Wise County Jail, and set his bond at $1.5 million.