CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. — The first of the young men to hang himself loved to spend time outdoors hunting and fishing.
One of his pallbearers, a popular basketball and football player who graduated from Caruthersville High School in May, hanged himself less than four months after the funeral.
Between those deaths, two others killed themselves the same way — each hanged himself with a belt from a clothing bar in a closet. All four suicides happened between July and November in rural southeast Missouri. They followed an earlier gunshot suicide by a classmate.
Despite the similarities, police, school and church officials have found no evidence of a suicide pact or a direct connection between the deaths.
"There was no indication that any of them talked to each other about it, at least not that we've heard from their family or friends," Pemiscot County Coroner Jim Brimhall said.
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Deaths hit region hard
The deaths have hit hard in this region known for sprawling fields of cotton, rice and soybeans. About one-third of the 6,700 residents in Caruthersville live below the poverty line.
Cooter High School principal Frank Killian and other community leaders are trying to drive home to students the message that nothing is so bad it merits suicide.
"They want the pain they're feeling to go away, but they will create more," Killian said.
The first jolt came when Clayton Andres Gonzalez, a 17-year-old standout pitcher and shortstop at the high school, shot himself June 10. Gregory Hawk Callens, 18, was among hundreds of young people to attend the funeral.
Callens, who had dropped out of school but was pursuing a GED, hanged himself on July 21.
One of Callens' pallbearers, Jason "J.J." Tate, 18, hanged himself Nov. 10. The popular basketball and football player graduated from Caruthersville High in May and planned to attend a nearby community college this winter.
Two other young men, Steven Ray Craig Jr., 18, and Christopher Slavings, 23, hanged themselves Sept. 14 and Oct. 8.
On the day of his death, Craig spoke on the phone with his father. They talked about the son's new fishing reel, bought for a trip planned for the following Saturday.
The father told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that his son had a fight with his girlfriend, and left his family a note saying he loved them but "this was something he couldn't deal with."
Mourning in different ways
Young people are mourning their friends in different ways. A few have gotten tattoos to remember Gonzalez, or put decals on their car windows in his memory. Students in Caruth-ersville have been spotted with bandanas on their heads to remember Callens and Tate, known for that headwear.
School officials are keeping an eye on the tributes, knowing they can be helpful for sad students, but wanting to make sure the remembrances aren't glorifying suicide in some way.
"I understand our students need to grieve, and they need to grieve in their own way. I want to respect that, but I don't want to create heroes out of these young men," Superintendent Nicholas Thiele said.
The Caruthersville district made its counselors available after Callens' death and stepped up efforts to increase awareness of suicide, depression, isolation and drug and alcohol abuse.
