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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.
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.
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.
The Caruthersville district made its counselors available after Callens' death and stepped up efforts after Tate died to provide increased awareness about suicide, depression, isolation, drug and alcohol abuse.
Now, every student in grades 7-12 learns a program known as QPR, for "question, persuade and refer." Students learn how to talk to friends who are stressed or in trouble and how to notify adults immediately when there's a concern. They're being told about hot lines they can call and other resources available to them.
The town held three community meetings to outline the risk factors and warning signs of suicide, ways to support grieving youths and the basic steps to a suicide intervention. Ministers are talking to teens from the pulpit and one-on-one.
Aaron House, 17, who knew a couple of the young men, said he thinks the best thing is for parents to sit down with their children, talk to them and be open to what they have to say.
His own parents did just that, and House said it helped.
"It let me think someone's there," he said.
More at link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061216/ap_on_re_us/missouri_suicides&printer=1
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On the 'Net: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: http://www.afsp.org/
