Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 27, 1995 TAG: 9501270069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Robinson lived in Southwest Roanoke, but he was a student at Addison Aerospace Magnet Middle School across the city because of his interest in space travel.
Tuesday began as a normal day for Cameron. Cindy Reardon, one of his teachers at Addison, said there was nothing unusual in his behavior Tuesday or in recent weeks.
"He seemed very happy. He was very proud of an A+ he had made on a social studies paper," Reardon said. "He was a good student and he worked hard."
She said Cameron, who was in the seventh grade, was smiling as much as ever recently.
Cameron went home Tuesday afternoon, dropped off his books and left his home in the Medmont Lake neighborhood near Lewis-Gale Hospital.
His mother reported him missing at 6 p.m. after she came home from work.
Less than 24 hours later, police found Cameron's body in a field near Hidden Valley Junior High School, off Virginia 419, where he often went.
He had shot himself once in the head with a small semiautomatic gun, according to Dr. William Massello, assistant deputy chief medical examiner.
Cameron was 14, one of the youngest people to commit suicide in Roanoke in recent years.
State laws makes it unlawful for anyone to allow children under the age of 14 to have access to a loaded gun that endangers them or threatens their safety.
Police said Cameron got the gun at his home, but they would not say who owned it or whether it was loaded when he got it.
Police put out a missing person report Tuesday night after Cameron's mother contacted them. Maj. J.L. Viar said officers on patrol Tuesday night were on the lookout for the missing youth. But they didn't search fields and parks because they had no reason to believe Cameron was there.
The next morning, the police resource officer at Addison asked Cameron's friends where he spent his time, and they told him about the field near Hidden Valley Junior High. That is where police found his body Wednesday afternoon.
Cameron's death stunned his friends and teachers. School counselors worked with them Thursday to ease their grief.
Patricia Vaught, a guidance coordinator at Addison, said Cameron came to the magnet school last year because he liked the aerospace curriculum.
He was a member of the Astronauts Club. He also was in the Boys Scouts and was assistant Cub Scoutmaster at College Lutheran Church in Salem.
Robinson was a member of Boy Scout Troop 34 at College Lutheran Church in Salem. Robinson had a fine association with the scouting program, said Bob Henderson, an assistant Scoutmaster for the troop.
"He has had an excellent year with the Scouts," Henderson said.
"It's a real tragedy, both for himself and his family," said Dan Clifton, executive director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Council of the Boy Scouts.
Cameron's family said that memorial donations may be made to Troop 34 at College Lutheran.
Scout leaders stayed busy Thursday notifying the troop members of Cameron's death. Many Scouts had not heard about it because they go to different schools.
Cameron's neighbors were also shocked, saying they had never seen anything to make them suspect he might take his life.
"He was a mighty fine young boy. He had never been in any kind of trouble,'' said John Slayton. "It's just one of those inexplicable things."
Ann Harman, executive for student services for city schools, said a team of seven counselors and school psychologists spent the day at Addison.
Harman said the counselors and psychologists are on the city's staff, but they are trained to provide support during a crisis or the death of a student. The school division has teams for elementary, middle and high school students, she said.
This is the second time in a month that a city student has died unexpectedly and prompted school administrators to provide counseling for grieving students. Seth Anderson, a junior at Patrick Henry High School, died of an apparent drug overdose in December.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB