WISE COUNTY, Texas — Thursday marks one year since 7-year-old Athena Strand's disappearance and tragic death on Nov. 30, 2022, in Wise County.
Today, Athena's family is tirelessly working to make the little girl's name synonymous with goodwill, and the man accused of killing her is waiting for his day in court.
Here's an overview of how the case unfolded, where it stands today, and the impact it left on the community:
Wise County and the State of Texas suddenly knew Athena's name on Dec. 1 when an AMBER Alert for her was activated.
On Dec. 2, almost 72 hours after Athena went missing, police recovered her body from a creek near Boyd and arrested a FedEx contract driver named Tanner Horner.
Horner had dropped off a package at the home of Athena's father in rural Paradise on Nov. 30, a package containing Barbies, which were part of Athena's Christmas gifts, officials said. He confessed to police that he "accidentally hit Athena with his truck," according to arrest documents.
He added that he backed into Athena, "but that she was not seriously injured, panicked, and put her into his van." Those same arrest documents read that Athena was alive then, talking to him and telling him her name.
Yet, Horner confessed that he strangled Athena because she would likely tell her father about being hit, authorities said. He later dumped Athena's body into a waterway and eventually led investigators back to the area whenever police connected him to the package, per court records.
Horner has remained in solitary confinement at the Wise County Jail and is awaiting a trial that could end with him in the death chamber in Huntsville, if convicted.
He faces a capital murder charge of a person under 10 years old. But late this year, his case has dragged on through the courts.
As first reported by the Wise County Messenger, District Judge Brock Smith removed Horner's initially appointed attorneys, Bill Ray and Steven Gordon, after becoming aware of the county's contract with the Regional Public Defender's Office to provide attorneys for capital murder cases.
The Wise County DA challenged that ruling, calling it a "reversible error." The case was paused, and at a hearing last month, Horner spoke in court for the first time, asking the public defender's office to continue representing him.
The delay will likely push a trial date into mid-2024 at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Athena's parents have since sued FedEx in civil court. Across the country, FedEx relies on its 6,000 contractors to provide package pickup and delivery services using their employees. Horner was hired by Big Topspin, Inc., a Dallas contractor also named in the suit.
Big Topspin has never commented to WFAA about Athena's death. The business is operated out of a home in the Dallas area, and they have never answered questions about Horner's employment or if he was properly vetted and trained.
Neither has FedEx. Horner had no criminal history, but the shipping giant couldn't tell WFAA how long Horner had been driving for the company last year.
Ahead of Athena's death anniversary, WFAA reached out to FedEx to see if anything had been done to prevent something like this from happening again.
A spokesperson sent the following:
It is with heavy hearts that we acknowledge the one-year anniversary of the tragic loss of Athena Strand in a devastating incident that shook our company and the community to its core. We extend our deepest sympathies to her loved ones and share in the grief surrounding this tragedy. We continue to keep Athena's family in our thoughts and prayers as they honor her memory and navigate the difficult road ahead.
We remain unwavering in our commitment to the safety and well-being of the communities we serve, our team members, and our customers. However, we do not publicly disclose details of our safety and security protocols.
A Case that Broke a 40-year Lawman
Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin has seen it all: He's a decorated police officer who's spent a considerable amount of his career with the Texas Department of Public Safety, primarily as a Texas Ranger.
He led the investigation when Strand disappeared and didn't expect the outcome to decide his future in law enforcement. He spoke with WFAA about the case for the first time last week.
"On a fairly regular basis, when there's a missing child, we find them within a few hours. That's what we thought on the night of November 30th," Sheriff Akin said. "It turned out not to be that way."
The search for Athena Strand looked like something out of a Hollywood movie. Dogs, drones, aircraft, law enforcement, and search teams made up of volunteers went field-by-field looking for Athena.
The images stay with Akin. He admits he's been part of horrible crimes before, but not where his constituents showed up to help him solve everything.
"We searched field after field with citizens, shoulder-to-shoulder, who just wanted to find that child," Akin said. "It was touching. They wanted to help. They tried to find her alive, as we all did, and it didn't come to fruition."
Akin first suspected that Athena had run off. When she never turned up, a search turned into an investigation. He remembers being inside the Cottondale Baptist Church, which served as a command post, with federal, local, and state police the morning Athena was found.
Everyone was exhausted, per Akin. He turned to his faith.
"There were probably 50 or 60 people in those pews," Akin said. "I remember saying it was fitting we were in a church and that we were going to have a prayer. Our Chief Deputy Craig Johnson said a prayer that we would find the answers for the family and that we would find this child. From that prayer to the time we found Athena and had him in custody, it was maybe 8 or 9 hours."
Akin told WFAA that he didn't believe Horner's confession and added that the physical evidence would show anything but an accident at trial but wouldn't elaborate further.
Once Horner had been arrested and Athena was found, he remembers making up his mind about retirement.
"I woke up on Saturday, and I told my wife that if I could walk away from this job right now, I would," Akin said. "It hurt our hearts. Not just mine but everyone's in the office."
"This will be my last term, and one of the reasons it'll be the last term is because of this case; I feel like I've seen enough."
Akin told WFAA that he believes Athena's name will stay with him and the sheriff's office long after he's hung up his badge.
He added that he'll never forget telling Athena's parents what happened to their daughter, a moment that brought him to tears in our interview.
"I really felt inadequate," Akin said.
"In reality, all I've ever wanted to do is make a difference. We didn't do what we hoped we'd do."
Akin, however, said Athena's death has taught parents in the county to hug their children tighter and cherish the minutes they have with them.
Athena Strong
If Maitlyn Gandy is reading this right now, she's likely waiting for me to mention the things she's done to keep Athena's name alive. Searches turned into vigils in the days and weeks following Athena's death.
Schools and students across the metroplex wore her favorite color: pink. Gandy has even kept her hair pink since Athena's death, working overtime to use her daughter's name as a voice and influence for others.
On what would have been Athena's eighth birthday this year, Gandy held a softball tournament where proceeds went toward Athena's' Army Fund, which works to raise awareness around safety and security for kids.
At the beginning of the year, Gandy partnered with Mattel, which sent thousands of Barbies to Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth in Athena's honor.
But Gandy's most significant accomplishment came in the state legislature. She worked with lawmakers to allow police agencies to send out regional missing children alerts statewide without needing to prove that they've been abducted, a hurdle required to issue a statewide AMBER Alert.
Gandy has been posting photos of Athena all week. It's a heart-wrenching moment for the mother, who is also anxious for her day in court.
