Document text
--> --> A memorial message to instructor Russ Cooley and student Sara Joy Burnson stands this morning outside Ashland High School, marking two untimely deaths. Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA Clues sought in student's sudden death By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings Police are looking at the last days of an Ashland High School student for clues about her death. "One of our detectives is attempting to reconstruct the young lady's weekend," Ashland Police Lt. Mike Bianca said today. "Where she was, who she was with, to fill in a piece of information about what actions or non-actions may have contributed to her death." Sara Joy Burnson, 16, died Sunday at Ashland Community Hospital. "As things stand now, the cause of death is undetermined," Bianca said. Ashland Community Hospital officials are unable to give any information on Burnson's death because of patient confidentiality, according to an ACH nursing supervisor. Rumors have swirled through AHS and the community about events leading up to Burnson's untimely death, including the possibility of suicide. "We're trying to piece it all together and separate the facts from the rumors," Lt. Rich Walsh said. Police have ordered toxicology tests to narrow the possibilities, according to Bianca. "(Attempted suicide) is not a determination the police can make," he said. "It's likely we'll look to the medical examiner to make that determination." Results of lab analysis and toxicology reports are expected in three to four weeks, according to Bianca, and the results "may reveal some important information," he said. Such tests are substance-specific, based on the substances police believe might be found in the body of the deceased, Bianca said. The informed guesswork comes from interviews with witnesses and other information gathered by police, he said. "In every case of an unexpected, suspicious death, we can't test for every single substance," Bianca said. The Burnson family has experienced tragedy before. Sara Burnson's older brother, Adam Jasper Burnson, was killed in 1994. Adam Burnson, 11 at the time, was hit and killed by a drunk driver while riding a bicycle on Highway 66. The driver, Lewis Baker, was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and DUII. Ashland High School students Monday made use of quickly organized grief counseling services on campus as they dealt with not only the death of a class mate, but the coincidental death of Leland Russell "Russ" Cooley, a recently retired high school teacher and coach. Also over the weekend, Southern Oregon University suffered the loss of Sharon Pifer, wife of SOU Athletic Director Phil Pifer. Sharon Pifer, 54, died Sunday at home. The Pifers moved to Ashland in 1981, and Sharon Pifer had worked as a senior teachers aid and was an active supporter of youth sports and high school athletics. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing