North Texans asked to wear pink Monday to honor slain 7-year-old Athena Strand

In honor of Athena Strand, a 7-year-old girl whose body was found by authorities Friday, people across North Texas join in a campaign to wear her favorite color: pink.

Strand, who had been missing since Wednesday, was abducted by a delivery driver, identified as Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, of Fort Worth, according to the Wise County sheriff’s office.

The girl’s body was found just miles away from her home in Boyd, Texas in Wise County, about 30 miles northwest of Fort Worth

Horner is facing charges related to aggravated kidnapping and capital murder.

Wise County Judge J.D. Clark published a Facebook post on Saturday in which he urged residents to wear pink in remembrance of Strand.

“Additionally, I encourage everyone to join me at 6:30pm on Monday on the Courthouse Steps to pray for Athena, her family, our first responders, and our comunity,” Clark wrote in the post.

Multiple school districts and organizations in Wise County, including Paradise Independent School District — where strand was a student — shared posts stating that they are encouraging staff, students and parents to wear pink.

Rod Townsend, superintendent of Paradise ISD, called for the school community to pray for Strand and her family.

“It is with a sad and heavy heart that I address you. We lost a precious member of our student body. Athena Strand was tragically lost this past week,” Townsend wrote in a post addressed to students, staff and the Paradise ISD community. “This world will forever be different because she wasn’t allowed to grow and develop into the precious young lady she was meant to be.”

A growing number of school districts outside of Wise County, including those in Bowie, Weatherford, Lake Worth and Quinlan, said on social media they will join in on the #Pinkout4Athena campaign Monday.

A candlelight vigil has also been scheduled for Tuesday at the First Baptist Church of Cottondale in Wise County, according to the organization’s Facebook page.