Ahhh, Meatloaf Thursday!
Posted on 05/26/2007 10:04:26 AM PDT by Mr. Brightside
Body Found In School Cafeteria Vent
Phoenix Elementary School Shut Down After Adult Body Is Discovered On Roof
05/26/07
(CBS/AP) Children were evacuated from a Phoenix school Friday after a man's body was discovered in a vent on the roof of the school's cafeteria, officials said.
The body was found as a plumber investigated a foul odor noticed by cafeteria staff earlier in the day, said Roosevelt School District Superintendent Mark Dowling.
Police think the man tried to break into the Sierra Vista Elementary School, where he was discovered Friday in an air conditioning duct on the school's roof.
Authorities think the man tried to climb through the duct, got stuck, and died. It wasn't known how long the body was there.
"Obviously because of the smell, there are indications that he had been there for some time," said Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman.
The man's name wasn't released.
The school was immediately placed on lockdown and parents were notified. School officials said at no point were the students in danger.
Police Detective Cindy Scott said in an e-mailed statement that the adult was "not related to the school" but offered no elaboration.
Dowling said the children were scheduled to be dismissed early Friday and that some parents were already on their way when the school notified parents about the discovery.
The school has about 550 students in preschool through eighth grade.
David Torres, who arrived at the school at midday to pick up his two sons, said he was surprised to see police and TV helicopters when he arrived.
"I was thinking something real bad had happened," said Torres, who was leaving with his boys. "I got nervous and I started to look for my kids."
Elisea Limones said she was shopping across the street from the school, where two of her nephews are students, when she saw the commotion.
"I was scared, I was frightened, of course," she said. "I didn't know if any of the kids were harmed."
Limones picked up her nephews — a third- and a sixth-grader.
A psychologist will be at the school when it reopens Tuesday, Dowling said.
LOL! School cafeterias always have foul odors, usually from the food.
They would have found him days earlier if the vent hadn’t been near the kitchen.
Nana and I were just talking about this. Our first thought was what on earth was he trying to break in for...to steal something?...what?
Then it struck me. This was the bully who had been stealing kids’ lunch money all through his school years, and now he was planning on taking on a bigger stash.
Exactly what will the psychologist be doing other than getting paid for being there?
I think they should take each kid up on the roof and stuff them in the vent for 15 minutes each, so that they can experience some of what the break and enter person experienced, and thus empathize with his terrible fate. Thus they can integrate this horrific event into the experiential fabric of their psyches and lead fuller richer lives as a result. :^)
I am assuming the psychologist will be there to serve the counseling needs of the faculty and staff since they are the only ones who would get shook up over such a thing. The kids probably haven’t given it a second thought.
I was just thinking the same thing. It's obvious this guy wasn't going to do any harm to the students. Now if they thought it was a health concern, they could have just transmitted that information to the parents so they could come get their kids. But if he'd been there that long, a couple more hours wasn't going to make much difference. I guess the presence of the TV news vans precipitated the desire to get the kids out.
It's apparent by the quotes from the story that the parents knew nothing, except the school was in 'lockdown', and assumed the worst, especially when they drove up and saw the TV cameras.
Well maybe there are needs for psycholgists after all. Actually, if kids or still kids they better weatch that roof. While adults gasp and wring there hands, these little darlins will be daring each other to check things out.:’)
Dang. That’s my best spelling yet.
I can understand the parent’s fear. I go by my grandkids school every day. If I saw a bunch of activity, I would have been concerned too. I was talking about the drama after LE and the school knew the kids weren’t in physical danger.
Another Darwin award candidate.
I think we all know how odor can evoke and revive long lost memories. There is something about olfaction that can bring us back to a time and place far removed from the present. Along with the memories come the emotional response these long lost experiences.
Who better than trained, professional "smell counselors" to be available to students and staff should anyone have the need to process what happened. The administration would be negligent if they did anything less.
When I was in third grade our class was broken into. The guy cut himself on the window and had washed his hands in a puddle on the playground. We still had school. We spent the day talking about it and walked over the puddle, but did not get too upset about it. I don't know that our reaction would have been much different if a body had been found in our school.
BTW, who was the victim? Had he crawled into the chimney or had someone stuffed a dead body into it(that happened in a TV show)? Seems there is callous disinterest in the victim.
There is something just not right regarding this story.
Ahhh, Meatloaf Thursday!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.