ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- Police have released brand new evidence in the search for Somer Thompson's murderer.
They are artists renderings of Somer's book bag and lunch box. She had both of those items with her when she was last seen and neither have been found.
Along with the new information, Somer's case is getting national exposure on some of the biggest shows on television. Somer's story was on America's Most Wanted this weekend. Diena Thompson, Somer's mother, sat down to do an interview for Dr. Phil Monday.
It's because of America's Most Wanted that the sheriff's office has new leads to follow in the murder of Somer Thompson. They're now releasing new details about her investigation. After the show aired Saturday, they've received more than 3,300 tips and have new leads in the search for Somer's Killer.
We're also seeing sketches of Somer's bag and lunch box for the first time. Originally it was described as a back pack. So why now is the sheriff's office just releasing these? It told us, "We were not able until last week to dedicate an investigator's time to guiding an artist through the process. We had been trying to find similar items on the Internet so we could show them publicly, but were not able to find any, so we had to create them from scratch."
While the sheriff's office works around the clock to solve this little girl's murder, so is her mother. Diena told us last week, she's making sure the word gets out and hope stays alive.
"I have to have hope. It's the only thing I have left," said Diena Thompson.
Remember, police need your help to find Somer's killer. If you have information, call the tip line at 877-227-6911 or email the sheriff's office at
cart@claysheriff.com.
