By Jason Spencer
Investigators trying to solve the killing of a 15-year-old Rockdale girl, whose bludgeoned body turned up last month in a rural eastern Williamson County ditch, said Thursday that other girls may be in danger.
Sheriff's investigators issued a written statement Thursday asking for help catching whoever beat Rockdale High School student Sonya Wallace to death and left her in a creekbed near the Lee County line and the Structure com- munity.
``Due to the nature of this crime, investigators feel certain that others could be in danger and it is hoped an arrest can be made before someone else is hurt or murdered,'' the statement said.
A motorist found Wallace's decomposing body March 14 beneath a bridge on County Road 490, near FM 619. Wallace's mother, Linda Flores of Rockdale, had reported her missing nearly a month earlier. When she died is unknown.
``She was dead for some length of time before we discovered the body,'' Capt. Linda Bunte said. ``Because she was so decomposed, I can't put an exact date on it."
Investigators now believe more than one person participated in Wallace's death and that Wallace knew her killers, Bunte said.
``Through the interviews, we feel certain she knew them,'' Bunte said.
Investigators have concentrated their efforts in the Rockdale, Thrall, Taylor and Elgin areas, Bunte said.
Deputies have placed posters with Wallace's face on businesses throughout those towns offering a $1,000 reward for information on the case.
They have also interviewed dozens of people in the past month, Bunte said.
In addition, investigators have returned to the farming and ranching community of Structure where Wallace was found and collected additional evidence, which is being analyzed, Bunte said.
Wallace had attended Taylor schools in recent years and had visited the Elgin area, Bunte said.
``We know for a fact that she knew people in Elgin,'' Bunte said.
The people who killed Wallace have likely changed their daily routine, Bunte said. They may be paying closer attention to news reports and keeping to themselves or may have left town on a brief trip, she said.
Investigators are confident several people have information about Wallace's death, but have yet to come forward, Bunte said.
``I don't think we've hit a brick wall,'' Bunte said. ``I feel certain we're going to make an arrest. We've got a lot more leads to follow and a lot of people to interview."
Detectives are asking anyone with information on Wallace's death to call the Williamson County Sheriff's Department at (512) 943-1313 or CrimeStoppers at (800) 253-7867.
American-Statesman Staff