Authorities say a south Georgia high school student apparently climbed atop
an upright roll of wrestling mats, fell into a center opening and died after he
became trapped inside according to Fox News.com.
Lowndes County
sheriff's officials said Monday that 17-year-old Lowndes High School
student Kendrick Johnson became lodged inside the roll of mats, upside down.
His body was found Friday in the high school's old gym.
Investigators say Johnson, who played football for the school, may have been
trying to retrieve a shoe that fell into the mat.
Authorities say no foul play is suspected. Lowndes County Sheriff Chris
Prine tells The Valdosta Times that an autopsy, his investigators and the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation found no signs of a struggle.
He was upside down in the mat and is believed to have passed out due to the
blood flow to his head for an extended period of time, which could ultimately
lead to a stroke or heart failure, the report says.
Although investigators do not believe foul play was involved, the sheriff
said he and his investigators will continue interviewing students and friends
who have additional information.
Kenneth Johnson, the teen's father, told WALB he believes his son was
murdered.
"I want to express how did my son go missing during school hours in
broad daylight? We know our son was murdered while he was at Lowndes High School.
We do know that," Johnson told the station.
A call from FoxNews.com to the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office was not
immediately returned.
Johnson reported his son missing late Thursday night and his body was
discovered Friday morning. The school was placed on lockdown after the
discovery, WALB.com reported.
"How can you go on when you have a beloved child who wakes up everybody
in the house and makes a laugh out of everything, how can you go on? It's
hard," Johnson told the station.
Fox News.com
