JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local mother who knows the pain of searching for a missing child for days with no answers in sight says she is offering her ear to the mother of missing toddler Lonzie Barton.
Lonzie, who is 21 months old, disappeared late Thursday night or early Friday morning while his mother's boyfriend, William Ruben Ebron Jr., was watching him and his 5-year-old sister while the children's mother, Lonna Barton, was at work. Ebron, who was arrested Friday night on child neglect charges, is now considered a suspect in Lonzie's disappearance.
Recommended Videos
As she has watched law enforcement come out by the hundreds to search for Lonzie, the mother of murdered 7-year-old Somer Thompson said the wounds from her own personal nightmare have reopened.
Somer went missing in 2009, and her body was found days later in a Georgia landfill. She had been sexually assaulted and murdered.
Diena Thompson, Somer's mother, has joined other members of the community in a vigil for Lonzie and said her heart goes out to Barton.
"It's a very surreal experience," Thompson said. "It's hard to watch on TV and see your child's picture being flashed on the TV, people out looking for your kids. … They're trying to get all the evidence that they can to try to locate your child."
She said that during a search, the public often draws its own conclusions, and she said she commends law enforcement for protecting Barton from negativity.
"I absolutely applaud them on that, sticking up for the mother and saying she has her reasons (why) she doesn't want to go out and be on camera right now," Thompson said. "That's OK. That's her right. She's concerned about finding her child."
Thompson said that even though Barton is facing a range of emotions, she hopes guilt isn't one of them.
"I just want the mother to know that I know she's feeling guilty. I know she is because I still to this day feel guilty," Thompson said. "It's just something that comes along with it, but she has absolutely no reason to feel guilty, and if she ever needs someone to talk to, I am here for her."
Thompson said that during the search for Somer, she wanted someone who experienced the same situation to comfort her, and that's what she is offering to do for Barton.