The suicide rate in rural Wyoming has skyrocketed to become the fourth highest in the world, a coroner said.
The unnatural deaths in Natrona County began last fall and continued into the new year.
Coroner Jim Whipps on Tuesday urged county commissioners to address the problem after 12 people, mostly young adults, died by suicide in the past four months.
“If you extrapolate that, I can expect between 36 and 40 suicides this year,” said five-year vet Whipps. He noted this would break a record set in 2022, when 32 people from Natrona County committed suicide.
The root cause, he said, remains unknown, worrying citizens of the Casper County seat. The city is where a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death while trying to protect his girlfriend from two teenagers in a shopping centre, a blow to the close-knit community.
Scroll down to watch the video:
The suicide rate in a rural Natrona county has soared to become the fourth highest in the world, a coroner said. Pictured, Casper County seat, central Wyoming.
Coroner Jim Whipps on Tuesday urged county commissioners to address the problem after 12 people, mostly young adults, died by suicide in the past four months.
“This has been a different year,” Whipps told Natrona County School District Board of Directors attendees.
“It kind of started last fall, but the number of cases of unnatural deaths is increasing sharply.”
Citing overdoses as a trigger, he said suicides are “through the roof.”
Meanwhile, the county’s suicide rate is “on track for another record year in this county,” he added.
“Our record for this county was a couple of years ago at 32 or 33.”
“So far this year, we’ve had 12 in four months,” Whipps said of the recent suicides.
‘If you extrapolate that, I can expect between 36 and 40 suicides this year.
‘[It] It’s going up a lot.’
The words of caution come a couple of weeks after Whipps raised similar concerns at Natrona County School District 1 in Casper, where he told staff he believes the problems stem from the school system.
“It’s like I’m telling the school board that when I look at these kids in their 20s and 30s, I can almost always point out that a big part of the problem that led them to suicide began in their teens,” he said.
He is seen here expressing similar concerns to the county school district last month, citing how several of the dozens of suicides seen over the past four months involved young adults. He criticized the district for what he considered inaction on its part.
Also speaking was Anni Dundas, a resident who categorized herself as a suicide survivor.
In his five years as coroner, Whipps said he has investigated eight teen suicides, none of them occurring this year.
Criticizing the district for what he sees as inaction on its part, he said, ‘We don’t have to worry about whether we’re opening Pandora’s box, because I’m going to tell you right now that it’s already open and has been for a long time.’
“Per capita, Natrona County has one of the highest suicide rates in the state, the nation and, believe it or not, the world.”
“It’s time to take a top-down approach through policy and implementation of programs in schools like Sources of Strength, which is a proven, broader-based resilience program,” Whipps said.
It required them to do something “now” to help students deal with mental health issues, calling for implementing programs that would address those issues as they occur.
“I have to tell you that from the outside, looking in, it seems like there are a lot of people turning their heads, burying their heads in the sand, passing the buck and dragging their feet from the school district, the board,” he said during the public comments.
Casper is a city in central Wyoming. Offering stunning landscapes and scenery, it is the second most populated city after Cheyenne. It has about 6,000 inhabitants. The surrounding county has about 20,000 more.
In his five years as coroner, Whipps said he had never seen an increase in suicides like this before. He believes the suicides are due to the state of the Casper school system.
‘I am willing to be available to help. … Something needs to be done now, not five years from now, something needs to be done now.”
Also invited to speak was Anni Dundas, a Casper resident who categorized herself as a suicide survivor.
Speaking about the community climate and recent events such as the stabbing death of a teenager by two other juveniles at a local shopping center, Dundas said it was time to admit there is a problem.
“It is known throughout the state that the Natrona County School District does not have this type of collaboration with the community and with community resources,” Dundas said, citing how he already spoke with district officials in an effort to psyche Young. health a priority.
Student Elora Nations, a member of the Youth Empowerment Council, also took the podium and told attendees, “This year has been incredibly difficult for Natrona County students.”
“We know from our extensive research that both children and adults are at increased risk of suicide when they have just experienced the impact of a major loss.”
He urged administrators and administration to monitor schools to see if there has been an increase in the number of suicidal students since then, and told attendees: “We don’t want to lose any more students this school year and we fear we may,” he said. . .
Robert Dean Maher, a 14-year-old high school student, was stabbed to death last month at a local shopping center.
An emotional vigil was held Thursday for the teenager at Eastridge Shopping Center, where he was stabbed by two fellow students, both 15 years old.
Robert Dean Maher, 14, died after he was stabbed twice in the stomach with a stolen kitchen knife at Eastridge Mall in Casper on April 7 around 1:40 p.m.
Dominique Antonio Richard Harris and Jarreth Joseflee Sabastian Plunkett, both 15, were arrested the same day near the mall.
They were supposedly seeking revenge against Maher, who a week earlier had called them “freaks.”
They are charged as adults with conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault and battery, and misdemeanor robbery.
After the board meeting, district spokeswoman Tanya Southerland did not allow Superintendent Michael Jennings to respond to reprimands from Whipps and the others.
He said the district would answer questions the following week, after which Whipps made his second attempt.
County Commission Chairman Peter Nicolaysen thanked Whipps Tuesday for coming to the school board again and raising the issue of youth suicide, saying, “I would personally say keep up the effort and keep up the pressure.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Whipps for comment.
Casper is a city in central Wyoming. Offering stunning landscapes and scenery, it is the second most populated city after Cheyenne. It has about 60,000 inhabitants. The surrounding county has about 20,000 more.