Track Sexual Offenders

A Jacksonville-area girl's death reminds us to keep an eye on our children. If you're not aware, 7-year-old Somer Thompson left her school in Orange Park Monday. She never made it home. Police found her body in a Georgia landfill two days later.

Police have not indicated that they have any suspects so we don't know if this is a case similar to that of Jessica Lundsford, the 9-year-old Homosassa girl who was kidnapped, raped and killed by John Couey in 2005.

(You may be glad to know that Couey died earlier this year.)

But it clearly wasn't an accident. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has a website where you can search for for sexual offenders or predators within a radius ranging from 1/4 mile to 5 miles from our commuity. Here it is: http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/searchNeighborhood.do.

A search today turned up none in the community itself, one sexual predator and four other sexual offenders living within one mile of us. It's important not to overreact. It is the rare neighborhood that doesn't have some sexual offenders living in proximity to it.

This story is a reminder to take sensible steps to secure your homes from break-in and to use common sense to keep your children safe — such as making sure they have adult supervision at all times. In addition to keeping children from becoming victims of trouble, having adults around keeps kids from causing trouble too.