Classes at Travis Early College High School in Austin were canceled on Thursday after staff discovered the body of a teenage girl hanging from a tree.
Austin Independent School District Police Chief Wayne Sneed said at a press conference that an officer on patrol had been alerted to the discovery behind the school at approximately 7:39 a.m.
Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene at 1211 E. Oltorf St. and declared the teen dead.
Sneed added that there had been no immediate danger to anyone on campus. An investigation into the death has been launched.
While the victim’s identity and cause of death have not been announced, the district disclosed in a social media post that she was an 11th grader and “will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.”
“Our hearts go out to her family and friends during this extremely difficult time. She was found before most students arrived and to our knowledge, no students encountered the situation. Austin ISD police closed off the areas, and we sent all students home for the day,” the post read.
Students were given the day off on Friday, with the school offering students and staff counseling from mental health professionals from 9 a.m. to noon.
“Families may bring their children to the front of the school to receive the counseling services. We will greet you at your car to sign your child in, who should be ready with their student ID number,” Travis Early College High School Principal Elizabeth Salinas wrote in an email, according to Community Impact.
She added that parents could receive emotional support at the Faith Presbyterian Church across the street.
Classes will resume Monday.
This was the second death of an Austin ISD student this month.
On August 12, Meadow Goodman, a student from Anderson High School, died of an apparent suicide.
Her father released a statement explaining that Meadow had struggled with mental health issues for over a year.
The “end result is something no parent, sibling, or grandparent should ever deal with in their lifetime,” he said, according to SNBC 13.
Matias Segura, Austin ISD’s interim superintendent, released a statement on August 17 that did not address either incident directly but stressed the importance of regularly checking in with students about their wellbeing.
“Despite the heartbreak mixed with this week’s excitement, I am confident that this school year will be a time of growth and renewal for Austin ISD,” Segura wrote.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, suicides in the U.S. hit a record high in 2022.