Main Line private school mourning possible suicide
The Shipley School in Lower Merion announced Friday that a student who was reported missing earlier in the week had likely taken his own life.
The Shipley School in Lower Merion announced Friday that a student who was reported missing earlier in the week had likely taken his own life.
"Although everyone was praying for a good outcome, I do not have good news," Head of School Stephen Piltch wrote in a letter posted to the school's website Friday.
Austin Wylie, 17, was entering his senior year. He was described as a talented player on the school's soccer team and the club team FC Europa.
On Thursday, Philadelphia marine units were searching the Delaware River near where Wylie's car had been found, according to police sources. A body was found Friday morning, but officials have yet to positively identify it.
The teen's friends and teammates flooded social media with Wylie's photo, requesting anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact police.
A note left for Wylie's family and found by authorities on his phone indicated the 17-year-old "was feeling significantly overwhelmed at the moment," Piltch wrote.
Piltch called the teen "one of our most committed, talented, humble" students.
"Not one to bring notice to himself, he was a leader by example," stated Piltch.
Tom Walsh, a spokesman for Lower Merion, said "the whole township is grieving for this family right now."
Wylie, who started at the school in fourth grade, was selected all-league and all-state for the 2015- 16 soccer season and was to be captain of the Shipley team for the upcoming year, according to Piltch.
In a September profile for Main Line Media News, Wylie said that in addition to playing soccer, he was a team manager during the winter season, and that he took a public speaking class that he hoped would give him confidence to speak before large groups.
The school is arranging grief counselors for students, teammates, coaches, and teachers, Piltch stated.
Wylie would be the second Shipley student in two years to take his life. In March 2015, the body of Cayman Naib, 13, was found at the edge of his family's remote Newtown Square property. During the four days Naib was missing, hundreds of friends and volunteers combed the western suburbs in search of the missing eighth-grader.
Services for Wylie have not been set. The family is planning to establish a memorial fund in his name, according to the letter.
Wylie is survived by his mother, Brooksley; father, Jim; brother, Cameron; and grandparents and other family.
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