A seven-year-old girl has been found dead, two days after being reported missing, and a FedEx delivery driver arrested over her death, authorities said.
The body of Athena Strand from Texas, US, was found on Friday and Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, was arrested on kidnapping and murder charges.
It's after Horner confessed to killing the girl and told authorities where to find her body, according to Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin.
Horner remained jailed today on a £1.2million bond. Jail records did not list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Akin said during a late Friday news conference that a tip led authorities to Horner, who the sheriff said had made a delivery to the girl's home shortly before she disappeared.
Horner did not know the girl's family, according to Akin, who declined to discuss a motive for the crime.
"We really can't get into the content of the confession, but I will say we have a confession" from Horner, Akin said.
The girl's stepmother had reported her missing on Wednesday from the family home near Paradise on the northwestern outskirts of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.
Her body was found near the town of Boyd, about six miles southeast of Paradise, a town of about 475 people, Akin said.
James Dwyer, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's Dallas field office, said FedEx cooperated with investigators.
FedEx said in a statement that it is working with law enforcement agencies investigating the case.
"Our thoughts are with the family of Athena Strand during this most difficult time," according to the statement.
"Words cannot describe our shock and sorrow surrounding this tragic event."
The grieving mother of Athena paid a heartbreaking tribute to her "beautiful princess", with Maitlyn Gandy saying she was kidnapped and murdered by a "a sick, cruel monster" for absolutely no reason.
"Athena is innocent, beautiful, kind, intelligent, and just the brightest, happiest soul you could ever meet," she wrote.
"I don’t want her to be the girl known as the one murdered and discarded by a monster.
"I want everyone to know, every single person in this world, that this is my baby and my baby was taken from me."
