Three years have passed since the day Athena Strand disappeared, yet for her family, time has not moved forward in any way that feels meaningful or merciful.
November 30 is no longer just a date on a calendar in Paradise, Texas.
It is a wound.
It is a memory that reopens itself every year, sharp and unrelenting.
It is the day a seven-year-old girl vanished from the place she should have been safest — her own driveway.
Athena Strand was seven years old.
She was small, curious, and trusting in the way only children can be.
She was old enough to be excited about Christmas gifts and young enough to believe the adults around her would always protect her.
On that day three years ago, Athena never made it back inside her home.
According to investigators, she was abducted from her Wise County driveway and later killed.
The man accused of her murder was not a stranger hiding in the shadows.
He was a FedEx delivery driver.
A man who drove onto her property in broad daylight.
A man delivering a package that reportedly contained a Christmas gift.
A moment that should have been ordinary.
A moment that became irreversible.
That suspect, Tanner Horner, now faces charges of capital murder and aggravated kidnapping.
But despite the severity of the charges, despite the magnitude of the loss, Horner has not yet stood trial.
Three years later, justice remains delayed.
Horner is not expected to face a jury until at least the spring of 2026.
Venue changes.
Legal motions.
Procedural delays.
Each one stretches the waiting.
Each one prolongs the grief.
According to arrest records, Horner was backing out of Athena’s driveway when he allegedly struck her with his FedEx truck.
Investigators say Horner later told them Athena was not seriously injured.
But instead of calling 911.
Instead of staying at the scene.
Instead of asking for help.
Authorities allege that Horner panicked.
They say he took Athena into his van because he was afraid she would tell her father what had happened.
That single decision, investigators believe, changed everything.
Video footage from inside the delivery truck later showed Horner talking to Athena.
She was alive.
She was conscious.
She was able to speak.
According to an affidavit, Athena even told him her name.
That detail has become one of the most haunting elements of the case.
A child identifying herself.
A child who still believed she would be safe.
A child who never came home.
Horner was indicted on February 16, 2023.
The charges were among the most serious under Texas law.
Aggravated kidnapping.
Capital murder of a child under the age of ten.
Wise County District Attorney James Stainton said he intends to seek the death penalty.
Horner pleaded not guilty to both charges in 2023.
And so began the long wait.
For Athena’s family, the legal process has felt endless.
Court dates scheduled and then postponed.
Hearings moved.
A change of venue ordered.
Each delay forces them to relive the details again and again.
Each delay asks them to remain suspended in the worst moment of their lives.
Athena’s mother, Maitlyn Gandy, has been painfully open about how devastating this journey has been.
She has spoken publicly about the exhaustion of grief.
About the emotional toll of seeing the man accused of killing her daughter.
About preparing herself for moments she never imagined a parent would face.
Her attorney, Benson Varghese, described one of those moments with quiet gravity.
He said it was “probably one of the most difficult moments of her life” to see the person accused of killing her daughter.
A moment she had thought about for a long time.
A moment no amount of preparation could truly soften.
While the case winds its way through the courts, Athena’s absence is felt every day.
She should be ten years old now.
She should be in school.
Learning.
Laughing.
Growing into whoever she was meant to become.
Instead, her story is told through police reports, court filings, and anniversaries.
Yet out of this unimaginable loss, something lasting has emerged.
In Athena’s honor, a new law was passed.
Athena Alerts.
The system is designed to help law enforcement quickly distribute information about missing children to the public.
Faster notifications.
Wider reach.
Less time lost.
Athena Alerts now stand as a direct response to the gaps revealed by her disappearance.
They exist because a little girl did not make it home.
Because her life mattered enough to demand change.
Across Texas, Athena’s name has become a symbol.
Not just of tragedy.
But of urgency.
Of the critical need to act fast when a child goes missing.
Of the reality that minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
But for Athena’s family, laws and alerts cannot fill the space she left behind.
They cannot replace her laughter.
They cannot restore the safety that was stolen from a simple driveway.
They cannot erase the memory of that day.
Paradise, Texas, has not forgotten either.
The town remembers the frantic search.
The fear.
The heartbreak that followed.
Parents remember where they were when they heard the news.
They remember holding their children tighter that night.
They remember the way the world suddenly felt less safe.
Three years later, the community still waits alongside Athena’s family.
They wait for a courtroom.
They wait for testimony.
They wait for a verdict that will never truly be enough.
Jury selection for Tanner Horner’s trial is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2026.
The trial itself is scheduled for April 7, 2026.
Those dates now carry enormous weight.
They represent the possibility of accountability.
The chance for a jury to hear the evidence.
The moment when a family may finally hear the words “justice served,” even knowing that no verdict can bring Athena back.
The legal system moves carefully by design.
But careful can feel cruel when grief is immediate and permanent.
For Maitlyn Gandy and her family, every delay extends the trauma.
Every rescheduled date is another reminder that their lives stopped three years ago, while the world continues forward.
Athena Strand’s story is one of innocence lost.
Of trust betrayed.
Of how quickly ordinary moments can turn catastrophic.
A delivery.
A driveway.
A child who should have been safe.
And yet, Athena’s legacy endures.
In new laws.
In heightened awareness.
In parents who pause longer before letting their children play outside.
In communities that respond faster when a child is missing.
Her name continues to be spoken.
Her face remembered.
Her life honored in action, not just in mourning.
Three years later, the trial still waits.
The questions still linger.
The pain still breathes.
But Athena is not forgotten.
She never will be.
And when the courtroom doors finally open in the spring of 2026, they will carry with them not just a criminal case, but the weight of a little girl whose life changed everything.
A Warrior Remembered: The Life and Legacy of Master Sergeant Jessie Browning
It is with deep sorrow that the Marine Corps community mourns the loss of Master Sergeant Jessie Browning, who passed away this morning after a courageous battle with colorectal cancer. She was a Marine, a sister, a wife, a mother, and a friend — and she leaves behind a legacy of strength, service, and sacrifice that will never be forgotten.
Jessie’s journey in uniform was one defined by grit and determination. Over the course of her distinguished career, she deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan with VMU-1, standing shoulder to shoulder with her fellow Marines in some of the most demanding and dangerous environments of the post-9/11 era. Known for her resilience, she was not one to shy away
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