[UPDATE 11:45 a.m.: ‘Apparent Student Suicide’] Deceased Juvenile Found at McKinleyville High Reports Janitor, According to Law Enforcement Dispatcher
At approximately 6:30 this morning, the report came over the scanner of a deceased juvenile located on the quad at McKinleyville High School. A janitor reported the situation.
We want to stress this is an initial report and we haven’t been able to verify the details. However, law enforcement, fire, and medical are on scene and the coroner has been requested, according to the scanner.
A poster on McKinleyville Community Watch wrote, “Anyone know what’s going on at the High school? 5 sheriff cars, fire truck and ambulance…just thought it was strange cause it’s so early.”
Parents are reporting that they are receiving emails and auto calls saying the school is closed.
We’ve attempted to call the school and the district office but no one is answering this early in the morning.
Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.
We will update as more information becomes available.
UPDATE 7:07 a.m.: The McKinleyville High School Facebook page states, “School is cancelled today, Friday May 3, 2019. Details to follow…”
UPDATE 11:45 a.m.:
The road is closed by McKinleyville High after a student is believed to have committed suicide. [Photo by Mark McKenna]
McKinleyville High School was closed today due to an apparent student suicide on our campus. While the school is safe, it will remain closed until Monday when school resumes. It is important for us to handle this in a thoughtful and confidential manner; therefore, we are unable to release details at this time.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the student.
While there is no school today, grief counseling for McKinleyville High and community members will be available from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at:
- McKinleyville Family Resource Center
1450 Hiller Rd, McKinleyville, CA 95519
(707) 840-0905
- Two Feathers Native American Family Services
1560 Betty Ct A, McKinleyville, CA 95519
(707) 839-1933
- Boys & Girls Club of the Redwoods McKinleyville Teen & Community Center
1705 Gwin Rd, McKinleyville, CA 95519
(707) 840-0304
Weekend crisis support will be available through the County of Humboldt’s Mental Health Mobile Response Team.
707-445-7715
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
For media inquiries please contact NHUHSD administrator Jack Bareilles at 707-845-6546.
A district spokesperson will be available at 1:30 PM at the NHUHSD District Office, 2755 McKinleyville Avenue.
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You are the best reporter in the county.
“Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.” TWICE!
Thank you for your hard work and your integrity.
I agree! Thank you Kym! Very sad news, prayers for the family.
YES! KymKemp and Wild Rivers Compass are my two 1st sources on ANY issue.
The title of this article can be misleading. I first thought, before reading this article, that the juvenile reported the janitor before dying.
😂
No unnecessary comments are needed. Especially with times like this.
Prayers for the family. May they get answers they will need.
🕯🌳Good morning Kym, such sad news so early in the morning. Prayers and condolences to the family.
That to bad that this happened i dont know why people choose to do this life is so precious prayers for the family
There saying it’s a suicide
I was “different “ in high school due to our religious beliefs . So was picked on bullied and harassed unmercifully every day. Many many times I thought of just ending it all. Don’t know if this applies now. But just thought I would share my experience. Our actions can have a huge impact on others lives. Both positive and negative! So so very sad. Condolences to all the family 🤭
Tolerance training is way overdue up here for the whole community
So grateful you made it through Ruth
Tolerance education has been in schools here for years. At least since the early 80s when we used to have school assemblies for it. Problem is that some kids respond to it well, and others are just as vicious towards “that weird kid” as ever. And there is very little punishment that gets results.
And the Aryan Nation gangs in mckvill/fieldbrook dont take kindly to such things being taught to their kids.
Lets just hope they dont start lynching folks like in the 80’s and i mean the 1980’s.
Yeah, ok. Whatever you say.
Glad I don’t live in the same world you do. Must be sad to see hate and racism everywhere you look. I was always taught the world is a reflection of yourself Pretty much says it all. Now let’s grieve and pray and stop with the nonsense
Ummm…Mack local, here. How about we not go there? It’s a tired stereotype and about as fresh as me being in love with my brothers…because it’s McKinleyville, right? Some of you may have heard my eyes roll from across the county lines. Save it. This is no time for sensationalism to get attention and “likes” for your comment.
I grew up in Fieldbrook, and the closest thing to a lynching that ever happened out there was when we accidentally hung Big Arn, in Cub Scouts. Fortunately, he was cut down before any lasting damage occurred, and he still lives out there today.
That was in the seventies, anyway, and for you to allege something like that on a thread like this shows insensitivity and cluelessness.
tolerance is one thing but demand or force others to accept something that they do not agree with is another. when one forces acceptance upon others thry are being untolerant of those peoples beliefs. wither they are rigjt or wrong everyone has the right to believe whatever they want.
as for this child we dont know the reason or state of mind when this action was taken, however everyone must be aware that thos sort of thing is more infectious than the flu,often all it takes is one to follow through and before you know it several others have done the same. watch your children. talk to them and listen to them not lime a parnet but as someone who truely values what their child is saying . it could be your child you save
Racism, homophobia, etc, are not ‘different viewpoints’ to be tolerated, they are death threats to members of our communities, loved ones, to rule of law, to a nation of liberty and justice.
If you call racism or homophobia over every difference, then it certainly creates injustice. If you only exclude one race from expecting the same justice, you create racism in the name of fighting racism. If you assert the right of one group to dictate the behavior of another group, you’d best be certain that you do not create death threats in the process.
Nope. Bullying of any kind should not be tolerated. It does damage that might not be immediately visible, but will emerge eventually. Schools that don’t address it need to be held accountable. Telling kids to “just ignore” bullies is the same as telling kids that what they experience isn’t real. Wake up, McKinleyville!
Very well said!
All you have to do for tolerance training is watch our politicians. Those people just ooze tolerance.
You COULD be stretching the truth!
We’re definitely getting mixed signals on tolerance.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/05/05/melania-trump-be-best-anniversary-trump-twitter-insults-blackwell-ndwknd-vpx.cnn
I was wondering if it was the same thing. When I was a kid a student decided to end his life after a very short but hard life by hanging himself in front of our Junior high. McKinleyville reminds me of the kind of awful vibe I had in Texas, higher percentage of real judgemental people there compared to places like arcata. Whatever the cause condolences to the family.
Try reading Cuteclover’s comment below before making blanket statements about who’s judgmental and who’s not. In my experience the sheltered upper-middle class kids were the most judgmental. And frankly that seems to be reflected in the Arcata attitude towards McKinleyville, Eureka, and Fortuna.
It is mostly up to the Parents to make sure their kids have respect for other people, and all life. I have always told my kids to be nice to other kids, and if your friends are being mean/harassing other kids, then they aren’t good friends to have, and to stop hanging out with them.
That being said, schools should also address bullying as many already do.
Sending positive thoughts to the family.
good job ray 👏
When I was in middle school there were two suicides. One was a girl who was very “in” and the other was a very studious, driven honor student. Who will break and what will cause them to break can be difficult to predict at first glance.
In my sophomore year I sat next to someone who turned into a paranoid-schizophrenic psycho killer in a few years. He ended up killing his elderly neighbors with a claw hammer. Had anyone asked the classmates, they probably would have guessed I would be most likely to become a psycho killer. My coping mechanism was reveling in my outcast status and engaging in the blackest humor I could think of. I was reprimanded for purveying “sick, nihilistic” humor on chalkboards and I wrote an English essay about necrophiliac poodles.
So sad, that this young individual, (Apparently @ least) is gone way too soon!!!
Amen.
Prayers for the family and friends 🙏🙏
Loco confirmed it was a suicide. Way too young to even be able to make that decision thoughtfully, so sorry for the family.
I had a long tall with my granddaughter last night. She has had suicidal thoughts over the years. Frightening times for our youth.. keep them close, talk to your kids.
😢
that poor child!
I have a daughter at Pacific Union who’s the “weird one” she is bullied and name called. it is sad I pray every night that nothing ever happened to her or her friends. She knows a kid there that they’ve taken a marker to his sweatshirt (wrote negative things on it) they’ve spit in his food. I’m so sorry this has ever happened to someone’s child.
I’m curious if you have offered or thought of offering Martial Arts training to your daughter as a way to build self-confidence.
Good luck to her.
I second that idea. It has certainly helped me for over 30 year as far as self-control is concerned.
PU should not allow this to continue.
Deepest sympathies to the family and friends. It is so hard to be a teenager right now- so much pressure to suceed, over-complicated social norms, on top of all the normal growing pains. I have three teens and it is just rough. I’m sure whatever was going on with this child was far from simple, and the saddest part is that they felt there was no hope, no help, no way out. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare.
You already know what happened to this child? Sad, everyone jumps to a conclusion without all of the facts. My Thoughts and prayers to the family.
It was not my intention to offend anyone in any way and my deepest apologies if I did.
You said nothing that was offensive. Being a teenager is way more complicated now than when I was young, and it was rough then.
I lived less than 1000 yards from my high school.
Guess how many times I was there @ 6:30am?
NEVER!
There’s something strange going on here.
Called suicide.
Maybe the kid was there since midnight.
Isn’t 5 sherriffs at the school strange any time of day?
There’s one Sheriff per county. The other 115 are Deputies, plus 84 Correctional Officers. Some with military titles such as Lt., and Sgt., <<not in the Republic.
Condolences to the family.
If you’re going to pray maybe start by praying to be free from the evil plots of a deity who murders children.
Would you kindly give us the chapter and verse on that ?
Actually, forget it. This article is not about you and what you think we ought to pray for.
All knowing deity, knew how everything would play out, its all part of its plan. No chapter and verse just extending the flawed logic of prayer to the Abrahamic deity.
Its not about you an your relationship with your deity either, yet you all feel compelled to express your personal beliefs.
Trolling in a thread about such a tragedy is despicable.
That’s just SOP for that particular “individual”!!!
People who troll such a tragedy must have something wrong with them. Extend your pity to such a pitiable creature and move on. Statistically, TROLLS are loners with no REAL life. This is the only life they have.
Worshiping a child murdering monster is despicable.
Do you really feel the need to spam a news article about a teen’s suicide to push your anti-religious agenda? How despicable are you?
hmm.
Which Deity??? THE FSM??? (Flying Spaghetti Monster)
Now there’s a deity I could sit down and eat with.
This story makes me so sad. I pray (send love & my hopes into the universe of chaos)for my own comfort. I despise trolls that think everyone wants to eat their s**t like they do. That troll comment made me feel even worse. The end of a too short life, or the horrible conditions of humanity that spawn such filth. One of my hopes is always… May the family find comfort and healing.
The prayer comments make me feel worse so I’ll make you a deal . . . feel free to prayer for your own comfort and keep it to yourself, and you wont hear from me about it.
“One of my hopes is always… May the family find comfort and healing.”
Well stated. That’s the kind of condolence I fully agree with.
As if you are the subject of anything in this. Leave people alone.
Sorry you feel bad. I pray that you’ll feel better, and I’m not even religious. Meanwhile, back to the matter at hand…
And there it is, the dumbest insensitive shit stirring comment of the day. Good thing nobody takes your advice.
Speaking of dumb insensitive shit, I’ve lost three friends/family members to suicide, most recently in 2016.
I had to endure each time as people insensitively offered religious condolences to the agnostic atheist friends and family. Its extremely rude to assume peoples views on this issue. Imagine watching your best friends face (or grandmothers) as they try to get through these interactions with self-centered people like you, obliviously insulting our loved ones memory.
Ok. I’ll explain this simply. When someone says they will pray for you, they are not inflicting prayer. They are offering you what they feel is the only help they have to give. Even if they do it in an effort to reform you according to their own mis placed judgement, that praying is an attempt at help. You may not want it but it is churlish to attack people for that one unselfish moment, even if you think that it’s wrong. It’s not all about you. It never is. You can’t possibly think that you have to right to demand people conform to your wants without getting yourself in the logical bind that you must in turn conform to theirs.
But…but…what about meeeee?
Thank you, Guest. Well said.
The only deity responsible isn’t a diety. It’s Satan.
Brutal and true.
That’s funny and sad at the same time. 2019 and we have people running around believing in Satan! That is more tragic than this child death.
What is wrong with you? Someone’s kid died and your sitting around trolling people about their beliefs. Its better to believe in something rather than nothing at all. Your colors are showing, people are offering prayers and you are trying to curtail those prayers with your nihilism. Absolutely despicable. On another note, may the child’s soul rest in peace. And prayers to the family.
Seriously? we do not know the details and already everyone is commenting, please be mindful of the family at this time of loss no matter what the cause was.
:/ My thoughts and prayers to the family.
How does a story about what is clearly a tragedy but the details are totally unknown become a stage for dragging the commenters’ personal issues?
My thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and all who are affected by this loss. :'( heart breaking
We don’t know what occurred. Why is there comments on tolerance, etc. We don’t know why this young person died. Very sad. But geez. Can you all stop with jumping on the soap box when you don’t even know the situation as to why this young person died?
Even with all the details…it will probably never be known why this srudent commited suicide because their thoughts at the moment are seldom revealed..or known.I had a lot of “reasons” to want to commit suicide when I was a Child but never seriously considered doing it. Now that I am past 75 I have no “reason” but do have thoughts now and then…so far they have remained just that thoughts. There may be what is considered red flags in the past of this student..I do not know and I hope that there are no copycats. Condolences to the Family,Classmates,and Friends.
thanks – you are absolutely correct.
gang
Suicide, murder, my first thought was overdose. So sad. Our world is so fu*ked up right now.
Teenagers sometimes can’t see beyond their immediate situation. High school is not the center of the universe, it really isn’t, once you get away from the cliques life gets better. Condolences to the family, no one should have to bear the loss of a child.
I think your message should be blasted on all school message boards, electronic and written.
I was thinking similarly; that it’s hard to see outside of the box that everyone is trying to keep you in.
Oh, gosh, that poor child. I’m so sorry they suffered.
So very sad! My thoughts & prayers are with the family and friends of this child
Multiple kids killed themselves when i was in high school 30 years ago.
Its not a new thing at all.
Granted, drugs these days are way more intense than the coke/pot of my youth.
Xanax is a major issue at the high schools. If stopped cold turkey often the person has a grandmaul seizure. They’re playing with lots of pills without understanding how they work&interact. Its scary.
Suicide doesn’t have to be drug-related. Depression is often all it takes to push someone over the edge, and making unfounded assertions is only going to make things worse, don’t you think?
Why not all chill out until the Coroner finishes and declares legal “cause of death”?
This poor person… the battle they must have been fighting.
The suicide monster is creeping into kids through the intense amount of information available to them. When taking in all the media around them young people have a sort of magnifier on their sense of self by finding ways to relate to the things they encounter though media outlets. That can be some hard stuff to take on in adolescence.
I’ve personally fought this monster as a kid, a teenager, an adult, and as a parent.. and it is a powerful beast that we need to fight together, especially in this era of information. We all have our personal battles, and very much need each-other in kindness; whatever that may be. A poem I carry around in my wallet helps me remember this, and helps me fight the monster when it comes at me:
_Raise your words, not your voice._
_Flowers grow with rain, not thunder_
I think that this is going to hit the whole community hard.
Practice random acts of kindness, friends.
Well said.
Yes well said. There has also been a lot of media hype around suicide recently, including the Increase that coincided with the new Netflix 13 reasons why. So tragic. It’s so devastating to family and friends, even the community when a young persons life ends in such violence. Today Mark’s the 4th anniversary of our loved ones death, he was shot at 13. There has been no conviction no closure. Barely a day goes by without tears, even four years later.every milestone he would have crossed brings questions and loss. Hold your loved ones close and show them how to show love and kindness.
ouch
Random acts of kindness are my favorite and my go to.
Sweet old gal behind me in line at the grocery store today had 1 item. I paid for it. She was happy, I was happy.
❤️ to the family.
🙏
The largest problem kids dont understand about suicide is not that it keeps things from getting worse, which it doesnt, but it does preclude the possibility of things getting better.
A permanent solution to a temporary problem
This is such a tragedy…my love goes out to the family that had to receive this nightmare news today of their loved one/ child. As a mother it is my own worst fear. We have to remember that the school needs change in this matter. My son when in the 5th grade was suspended from school for standing up to a kid that was bullying another kid. It is not the best message to ask our kids to unfriend these bullies either but to help teach them how wrong it is by standing up to their friend that may be the one bullying. He is the kind of kid that friends all different people. No clicks,clubs, groups, gangs etc….my favorite saying to my children as they were growing up was ” how boring this world would be if we all were the same”. My daughter in the 2nd grade was slapped in the face by a little boy at school. She was called into the office and reprimanded for tattling. Nothing happend to the boy…no punishment nothing. Our school system needs to change now! When I was a teen the teachers used to tell the kids that were hard to handle that they didnt get paid enough to deal with them and their behavior. What kind of message is that to kids who already have a realy hard life and struggling? That someone needs to be paid good money to care about them? It’s a shame and needs to start with the adults that are the everyday influences in our children’s lives that make the most impact. Parents teachers, counselors, coaches etc…it takes a community to raise children!
It was one of my best friends who died
I am so sorry. This must be really hard for you. I hope you have others you can hang out with to reminisce and grieve. The school is offering counseling sessions for those who reach out also.
I’m so sorry.
I am also very sorry for you loss. Please take advantage of the counseling services offered, you need to talk this out and set your emotions free.
I’m so sorry for your loss 😢
I’ve been there and nothing anyone says helps much. But time really does heal, and talking with someone about it is important. Sorry for your loss.
My heart goes out to you! In your alone times I hope you can sense your friend and send love. There are many now in the community who will do the same. You are not alone.
Suicide sucks! Been there, tried that, but now I’m happily back. Folks need Loving attention and support. Needing to live and wanting to live are different animals but both have value as loving tools to a skilled, loving ear in the intervention process. Most verbal suicide threats are cries for help, it’s the quiet folks that are harder to spot and in more immediate peril.
My thoughts and prayers to the friends and family.
I think that the children who are bullying and acting out in class, should have to have a parent or guardian chaperone them and stay with them the entire school day for a day or two. I know some parents wouldn’t like the fact that they’d have to take off from work to do so and MAYBE the child would learn a lesson. That’s to say if this poor child was even having that type of issue at all. It’s still a good idea regardless.
Again, my heart goes out to the family that this happened to. So so sad.
Condolences to the family. Rest in Peace.
Life is full of pain, especially for those whose frontal lobes are not fully developed (those under 25 years of age). Suicide has been present in my life since I was a VERY young child. I had family members, friends, and aquaintances who have chosen to take their lives and exit the excruciating pain they feel as inescapable. I have also had family, friends, and aquaintances who have made unsuccessful attempts. I have honestly considered it as an option many times myself. My children are the reason I have chosen not to exit this world. My own almost 20 year old child contimplated suicide while in high school. Thank God, Buddha, or whomever that higher being is, that my child is still on this planet! I am so thankful that my child communicated and expressed to me extreme feelings of hopelessness. I can’t imagine the PAIN that any parent must feel when their precious child chooses to take their life. I feel so much sorrow for the family and friends of this sweet, yet hurting young person who made this choice. It is the people who are still alive that are suffering, I choose to believe that the pain he/she was feeling is now gone. I am so sorry for all of you who are suffering right now. I hope you can find peace and acceptance somehow. My heart is hurting for you, just as mine has too many times during my own life. My positive vibes at this tragic time are with you all.
Mack High Senior, I am really sorry for your friend’s suffering & now your pain. Please reach out to someone you trust to just hang out with you and listen to you (if you feel like talking).
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Nice comment Guest. In total agreement with you here.
For any of you young adults out there who may feel the world closing in on you and consider suicide, please don’t do it. You are the future of all of us, including us old folks, and we will do anything to help you through it. Just ask. Or in my case, ask loudly (slightly hard of hearing).
For the parents and family of this young adult, my sincerest condolences to your loss.
For those of you that want to speculate and pontificate, please keep it clean. While freedom of speech is a great thing, and Kim allows considerable leeway on her site, there are folks out there who have more serious situations to deal with, and the noise we all are assailed with each day is sometimes overwhelming. Speak words of wisdom, not noise.
The fact that we even need a suicide hotline shows how disconnected we all are. We don’t know our neighbors, hardly talk to our friends, and are so absorbed in our phones as to not even notice our families.
My wife was sick for four days a while back. I ended up having to take her to the hospital. Her son was so wrapped up in his video games, he was completely unaware of any of it.
Get off your phone, shut the TV off, turn off the game, and look at the people around you. Say, “Hi.” Ask them who they are, and find out why they’re in your house. You might be surprised to find out they are related to you. Talk to them. You might end up saving someone’s life.
I’m so sorry for the friends and family suffering this loss. By the emotional outpouring in these comments, it is clear that a part of this grief is shared by many even without knowing the child involved. It is a hard, hard thing.
Whoever is leaving comments saying that the article title is misleading and whoever is leaving “😂” in the comments is SICK!! This boy was so upset that he took his own life and that’s the saddest thing ever! I pray for the family and friends of the loved one that they have lost. And I feel very bad for anyone who lost him. I find it terrifying how kids and adults are not having any care in the world that a boy just died on our campus and leaving disrespectful comments as those above. Just think about if your baby didn’t come home that night….. the family and friends are in my thoughts and prayers
Nothing like a little over-exaggeration. Are you a Republican?
Laughter is the best medicine and they weren’t laughing at the situation.
Saddest thing ever? Not even close…
Why do you think everyone else has to feel bad or sad over this? That line of thinking only adds drama to one’s own life, which is already full of it. It just doesn’t make sense.
I have a 12-year old who will go to Mack High in a few years, so this cuts close to home. Especially scary because he is bullied a lot, feels no one likes him, thinks “they’d be happy if I was gone” — he’s expressed this to me. I’ve told him he’s loved, that these people are people he won’t even know in a few years, that he means everything to me and I couldn’t live if he wasn’t around … but I still live in dread that these thoughts are even in his head. They’re in my head, too.
Reading all these posts I’ve seen others who have the same dark thoughts. My cousin killed himself three weeks ago: he was bi-polar and schizophrenic and the meds made him so unhappy. BUT the world is worse off for him not being around, IMO. His mother, bless her, saw it coming, did what she could, but accepts it as what he needed to do, to stop his pain. My cousin was nearly 40 years old, it’s not the same as a teenager who says “this is as good as it gets, I’m done” — High School is awful.
I wish there was a way I could go to school with my kid, protect him from even mean glances. I get that teachers are tired, I get that they do prevent a lot more that could happen, but this is a national crisis — bullying in school — and we need more personnel in classrooms and hallways. Our children are the most important thing in the world, IMO.
I heard this poor kid was bullied and was being home schooled bc the bullying had gotten so bad. And that the school was aware of the bullying. I hope the school, bully and bully’s parents are held accountable in some way. They have blood on their hands.