A 12-year-old boy from the Bayfield and Ignacio area died by suicide Wednesday night at his home, according to family.
Friends and family have identified him as Ethan Cole Kremer. The boy loved to fish, wrestle, rodeo and play baseball.
“He was a wonderful kid,” said his great-aunt, Tish Nelson.
Ethan is the son of Dason Kremer and Stacey Tone-Kremer. He is survived by his parents and three sisters, Addison, Hadilyn and Dalliann.
“He had such a wonderful life,” Nelson said. “He loved ranching. He had family members who loved him dearly.” He often played with his cousins and was planning a fishing trip with them soon. “He had lots of loving family around him.”
The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office and emergency personnel received a call around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday about a family member who found the boy unresponsive and not breathing in his bedroom, according to a statement issued Thursday morning by the Sheriff’s Office. Medical personnel attempted to revive the boy, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
“There’s just no reason for it,” Nelson said. “Kids get sad or mad at something, and we just have too much of this happening here.”
Ethan also is survived by his uncle and aunt, Doug and Lacey Kremer, and an extended family. He was a seventh-grade student at Ignacio Middle School and was looking forward to his 13th birthday June 6.
La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith said an autopsy be will conducted Friday morning. She declined to comment further on the boy’s death pending the autopsy results.
“It’s pretty tragic,” she said.
Ignacio schools had support staff in place Thursday morning to help staff and students, according to a notice on the district website.
Julie Popp, spokeswoman for Durango 9-R, said the school district reached out to officials in Ignacio, offering support with grief counseling, messaging for family and other support services.
“We have a repository of different resources we tap into, and we always reach out to school districts experiencing grief,” Popp said.
Herald Staff Writer Jonathan Romeo contributed to this story.
Suicide resources
Help for people having suicidal thoughts or for those who fear a person is considering killing himself can be found from these sources:
Axis Health System:
24-hour hotline at 247-5245.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline:
(800) 273-TALK (8255) or text “TALK” to 741741.
RED Nacional de PrevencióN Del Suicidio:
(888) 628-9454.
National Crisis text Hotline:
741741
Fort Lewis College Counseling Center:
247-7212.
Boys Town Hotline:
(800) 448-3000.
Safe2Tell Colorado:
(877) 542-7233 or online at
.
Colorado Crisis Support Line:
(844) 493-8255 or text “TALK” to 38255 or online at
http://www.coloradocrisisservices.org/
to access a live chat available in 17 languages. The line has mental-health professionals available to talk to adults or youths about any crisis, 24 hours a day.
Trevor Project:
(866) 488-7386. Crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth via online chat, text or phone.
Southern Ute Community ACtion Program:
Visit
and click on Suicide Prevention for a list of trained gatekeepers.
Second Wind Fund:
(720) 962-0706. This is not a crisis hotline, but the fund is available to youths who face social or financial barriers to crisis counseling. The organization requires a referral by a school counselor or mental-health professional.
Survivors Support GrouP:
Heartbeat of Durango meets from 6 to 8 p.m. the second Wednesday of every month at the La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave. Contact Janna for information at (970) 749-1673.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention:
Colorado chapter information available at
https://afsp.org/chapter/afsp-colorado/
For Men:
A website for adult men contemplating suicide, who often are unwilling to seek help, is available at
.
