(Suicide among teenagers is a national problem, and Rio Rancho is not immune from it. This is the second installment of a two-part story on the death of a 15-year-old Rio Rancho boy, and how it caught those who knew him by surprise. Part I ran in the Dec. 23 issue.)

By Gary Herron/Observer staff writer

Roger and Betty Wiegel say they never saw it coming. Oh, sure, they knew the 15-year-old grandson they were raising had some problems.

What teenager doesn't?

But Brian Wiegel was intelligent and sensitive, looking forward to obtaining his driver's license, and Christmas was only a few weeks away.

Sure, he was being teased at school, but maybe he'd get through all that.

He seemed to have a bright future, perhaps even obtaining his GED ahead of schedule and attending college to get a head start on his peers.

That bright future ended in a flash, when Brian Wiegel pulled the trigger and killed himself on Dec. 5.

When Rio Rancho High School principal Richard VonAncken heard about Wiegel's tragic death, he took swift action.

"As soon as I found out I mobilized all the counselors." He said he sensed there would be students who were distraught and needed someone to talk to, and others who were grief-stricken. Also, he cautioned, "We wanted to make sure there were no copycats."

Fortunately, there weren't. And counselors at the Mid-High, where Wiegel had gone for a semester two years ago, and RRHS ultimately spoke with students who knew the boy, either from church or around town.

Bob Cote of Rio Rancho, is a youth ministry worker, a commercial painting contractor by trade, who said he knows Roger and Betty Wiegel and had known Brian Wiegel since he was a toddler.

"In youth ministry; we get a lot of training on (teen suicide) and we're looking for red flags," he said. "Brian had his problems. (But) he loved his God, he loved being with Christians. Because of the fundamental parental issues (Brian's mother was an alcoholic, his father abused drugs and died at the age of 32) he had he didn't know how to deal in relationships. He'd get someone to like him and then hate him in the next minute.

"The issue is, we all have problems and his did not seem to be insurmountable," Cote said. "This looks a lot like it may have been impulsive. I spoke to a couple girls who saw him before he died and there did not seem to be any sign of depression until that last day. He had the means and was alone. Typically, Brian is not left alone; this was an unusual circumstance ... He had generated a degree of trust over the last year or so; he'd made his stupid moves. From a Biblical standpoint, there's no doubt in my mind that he's saved.

"He got circumstances piled up on him and believed he found a way out and for teenagers - sometimes that can be the end of the world," he said. "We have to work through their peers (to find red flags)."

Cote said times have changed since teens' parents were teenagers themselves.

"Nowadays, talking about suicide is very commonplace - if someone talks to you about it, you're supposed to tell someone," he said.

Cote said too often, kids are afraid to lose a friend by repeating something they were told in confidence.

"Basically, if a friend talks about suicide, explore that conversation and turn the conversation positive - if they're depressed, try to look on the bright side - the boyfriend or girlfriend that has left; I've had that happen before," Cote said. "If a person has worked out a plan to kill themselves, that is a serious red flag - someone needs to be told, someone in authority.

"Another indication is if they have the means to their disposal: 'I have a gun,' 'I have a bottle of pills,' 'I have a knife or razor' or whatever - that is a serious red flag, that is (the time to) call 911 - get the police over there. Those are the kinds of decisions that call for peers: We tell them it is better to lose a friendship than to lose a friend - even if you make a mistake; there's always hope of rebuilding a friendship

Matt Sellers, a youth ministry leader at the Wiegels' church, First Baptist, said anyone considering putting an end to his or her life should, "think about the consequences: Everything we do has a consequence, bad or good. Think about what you're going to do."

"One thing for parents to know is all the Rio Rancho Public Schools counselors have a protocol procedure - a process to go through, go through the status - and intervene. That's district-wide, K-12," said Roseann Cochran, a counselor at RRHS.

"We educate our students, so if they are concerned about a student or adult, people will call us," added Shirley Beaupre, a counselor at the Mid-High. "The district has protocol that we follow when there's a concern; we're aware of it and working very hard."

"We just did a (suicide prevention) workshop last month," noted Denise Sorci, program director of Safe Schools/Healthy Students in Rio Rancho. "October was Suicide Prevention Month. We put on a workshop for parents; it was scarcely attended, 20-25 people came. Two committed suicide last year in Rio Rancho, one at the high school, one at the Mid-High. We're not immune to it - it's not about pointing fingers, it's about having an awareness."

Sorci said a myth that needs to be dispelled is that family members are often the first ones seeing signs someone may be thinking about taking their own life when the truth is, teachers and coaches at the student's school often are the first to see signs of destructive behavior.

James Beecher, a behavior intervention specialist with RRPS, said he gets "called for suicide assessment, I'd say, once every two weeks. It goes in waves, three in a week and then nothing.

"In my case, I get utilized in numerous ways: individual and family counseling, also some other mental health - like crisis intervention for students at-risk, either suicidal or in the throes of argument or conflict with another student or teacher," he said. "I work quite a lot with schools and families for behavior plans - substance abuse, defiance, curfew breaking. I'm just one of the people in the school district that could be utilized that way; there are several clinical psychologists in the district. Almost all these families I've worked with have a gun in the house.

"Talking to a trusted adult is the prescription for success or safety - a parent, uncle, teacher or coach, spiritual advisor ... It's an often-quoted sort of saying about suicide is it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem; I certainly concur with that."

Brian Wiegel should have been enjoying his Christmas presents today. But nobody close to him foresaw the intelligent, sensitive teen ending his own life three weeks ago.

"Last week there were two suicide interventions that I did," Beecher said. "We come up with a safety plan, continue to work closely with the students and the family; I hooked them up with a psychiatric evaluation."

Beecher also works proactively for early intervention: "Last year, for example, in March or April, I administered a curricula through the Jason Foundation at Rio Rancho High School targeting the 10th-garders. I was in a gym class for an hour-and-15 minutes doing a session on suicide awareness, warning signs, and what to do if presented with these warning signs."