OLIVEHURST, Calif. — An Olivehurst family is remembering a 14-year-old student who took her own life at Lindhurst High School.
“Personally, I think I’m having trouble processing it. I don’t think it’s hit all the way," said Steven Smiley, as he copes with the loss of his sister, Autumn Estes.
The Yuba County Sheriff’s Office says the 14-year-old died by suicide at Lindhurst High School last Thursday. It’s left the community of Olivehurst wondering how it could have happened.
“She just brightened up the room. She really did. She had this way about her that just made you feel good," said Kristina Elliott, a longtime family friend.
Estes’ family says there had been an incident of bullying in the past, but it’s unclear what exactly led up to the tragedy.
The school district says surveillance cameras on campus show Estes was alone when she died. In another statement from the Marysville Joint Unified School District, the superintendent said, in part:
“From this tragedy, we learned that even through mental health and wellness services, we need to make sure our staff and families know how to access the resources.”
Family friends are now planning a “Walk Against Bullying in Memory of Autumn.” As they grieve her loss, the intent is to stop anyone else from taking their own life.
“I think we’re really just wanting time to grieve and process it. But we’re also wanting -- like the walk -- we definitely want to be part of things like that and I think it’s definitely a positive thing," said Smiley.
Tuesday evening, the school district is holding the first in a series of mental health and wellness workshops for the community.
You can find all the details HERE. There is also the Walk against Bullying in memory of Autumn happening at Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Marysville. It starts at 4 p.m. and the goal is to fight bullying and prevent suicide. More information can be found HERE.
The family also has a GoFundMe account set up to help the family and cover funeral costs.
The full statement from Marysville Joint Unified School District Superintendent Fal Asrani is below:
"The Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the tragedy from last week and, as such, we are unable to comment at this time. However, I can say that the tragic death of one of our students has shocked our community. We are still processing the loss of this young life and our condolences, thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time.
The safety, mental health and wellbeing of our students and staff is very important to us. We care about every student in our schools and the families we serve, and we want to do whatever we can to protect them. We take complaints about bullying very seriously and know how damaging it can be to students and their mental health. We regard all types of bullying, including cyber-bullying, as unacceptable.
From this tragedy, we learned that even though mental health and wellness services are available in our community, we need to make sure our staff and families know how to access these resources. This evening we are holding the first in a series of mental health and wellness workshops for our community and continuing to meet face-to-face with our families to hear from them directly.
During the pandemic, the district started offering Conscious Discipline training to teachers, custodians, secretarial staff and administrators. Nearly 600 staff members have already been trained and more sessions are planned for this summer. The district is planning to offer additional training about bullying prevention and positive behavior interventions for staff, students and parents."
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