First grader’s abduction, murder leaves Wise County residents reeling
By ROY EATON
Publisher, Wise County Messenger
DECATUR – A wave of sadness and anger swept over Wise County in early December after the abduction and murder of a seven-year-old girl.
Law enforcement officers said Athena Strand was abducted from her home in a sparsely populated area of the county just minutes after she got off the school bus from her first grade classes at Paradise Elementary School.