A Rio Lindo Adventist Academy student died Aug. 28 during a campuswide activity at the Healdsburg boarding school, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Tuesday.
Authorities have not released the cause of death. Sgt. Juan Valencia, a sheriff’s spokesperson, said investigators are awaiting the coroner’s report and that preliminary information suggests it may have been medical in nature.
School officials have not disclosed details about the activity but said they are cooperating with the Sheriff’s Office.
In a Facebook post, the school said classes and activities were canceled through the weekend to allow students and staff time to grieve. Chaplains and mental health professionals were brought onto campus, and on Monday teachers participated in “trauma-informed” training led by the Sonoma County School Crisis Response System of Support team.
“Our purpose right now is to support our students and staff in every way possible,” Albert Miller, vice president for education at the Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, said in a statement. “On behalf of the Rio community, thank you for your prayers and the many offers of help.”