FedEx driver kidnapped 7-year-old Texas girl who was found dead Friday, officials say

A FedEx contract driver in Texas was arrested Friday and charged in the kidnapping and murder of a 7-year-old girl who went missing two days earlier, officials said.

The disappearance of Athena Strand, who vanished Wednesday from her home in Paradise in Wise County, prompted a large search with around 200 volunteers from the community.

On Friday, authorities found her body southeast of the city of Boyd, a city about 11 miles away, Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin told reporters.

“We do have a confession,” Akin said at a news conference Friday night.

The driver, Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, was arrested on charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, Akin said.

He was being held in jail in lieu of a $1.5 million bond Friday night. It was not immediately clear Friday night if Horner had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Athena arrived home from school Wednesday afternoon as she usually does, and at 6:40 p.m. her stepmother reported the child missing, Akin has said.

Horner delivered a package to the home around the time she was discovered missing, Akin said Friday night. Investigators believe the girl died within about an hour of the abduction, he said.

Officials at a news conference did not reveal a motive and did not say how the child died.