Sebastopol school community mourns teen after suicide

Editor's note: In identifying Sage Schmitt, the Press Democrat has chosen to use feminine pronouns after discussions with Sage's parents, who used both "they" and feminine pronouns to describe the gender-fluid teen, and to avoid confusion while referring to Sage.

By all appearances, Anna “Sage” Schmitt was a happy and outgoing teenager.

The 14-year-old honor student was class vice president at Sebastopol's Hillcrest Middle School, played in two bands and was the lead in the school's recent winter musical.

But beneath it all, the high-achieving eighth-grader with the rainbow-colored hair was deeply depressed. Sage was receiving family support when she announced last year she was gender fluid, but she struggled with unknown mental health issues and was in regular therapy sessions.

And then sometime in the early morning of May 1, Sage decided to end her life.

She left behind her grieving and bewildered parents, Curtis and Rebekah Schmitt, along with her 8-year-old brother, Zach.

“We are shocked,” her distraught mother said.

It was a sentiment shared by many Hillcrest students, teachers and parents over the past week as they tried to make sense of the death of one of the school's most popular students.

Many expressed disbelief that the confident and outwardly cheerful girl would kill herself. Social media posts show a beaming kid hanging out with friends or performing on stage.

“It's unimaginable,” said family friend Julie Stites, who has been trying to come to grips with the tragic death. “What exactly caused everything, I don't know. I don't know that anybody knows.”

Others wondered if Sage was inspired by “13 Reasons Why,” the controversial TV series that's been criticized as romanticizing teen suicide and was filmed in part at Analy High School - where Sage was planning to go this fall.

Sage and her mother watched the Netflix drama after its release in March ,but her mother doesn't believe it had any influence, saying her daughter's depression predated the show.

A suicide note did not explain why she did it, her parents said.

“There just was not a reason for this,” her mother said. “There never is. Sage made an incredibly regrettable choice.”

In fact, suicide is the second leading cause of death among ages 15 to 34 nationwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Sonoma County, 1 in 10 self-inflicted deaths from 2013 to 2015 were among people 10 to 24 years old, Department of Health Services statistics show.

Depression was a leading cause, said Mike Kennedy, the county's mental health director.

Other high-risk groups include Native Americans and people identifying as gay, lesbian or transgender, Kennedy said.

The county offers a suicide hotline, 855-587-6373, and has conducted training at the high schools and Santa Rosa Junior College to identify warning signs that could help prevent people from taking their own lives.

The training does not extend to middle schools, but Kennedy said his office sent grief counselors to Hillcrest to help in the aftermath.

Sonoma County Office of Education officials also visited the campus with therapy dogs, he said.

“This was unique in the sense of how young this person was,” Kennedy said.

Both Jennifer Schwinn, Gravenstein Union School District superintendent, and Steve Herrington, superintendent for county schools, acknowledged Sage's death in letters to families.

Herrington mentioned “13 Reasons Why” as cause for concern and could cause “feelings of distress in viewers.” He recommended “metered viewing” to give students time to process and discuss what they see.

Sage Schmitt had been in therapy for depression for about two years before her death, her parents said.

About 18 months ago, she came out to family and friends as bisexual, and later, gender fluid, meaning her gender identity alternated between female and male.

“Some days she felt more masculine and some days she felt more feminine,” her mother said.

About that time, she adopted the name Sage and chose Casey as a middle name.

She also asked people to refer to her as “they” rather than she.

People were accepting of the changes and she was not a victim of bullying, her parents said.

“When they came out as bisexual, they had an incredible amount of support,” he mother said. “It was heartwarming.”

Throughout the transition, Sage pursued her interest in the arts and music. She had the lead in the school's production of “Mulan” and played drums in the campus jazz and marching bands. She was a percussionist in the Santa Rosa Junior Symphony and was learning the accordion.

Sage also was looking forward to high school, scoring the second highest score on her placement test.

“She was so full of life,” her father said. “She was bright, energetic and sarcastic.”

Her parents were divorced and Sage split time between their homes. She was at her father's place in Rohnert Park the night before she died. The family did not discuss details of how she took her life.

“Everything that could be done (to prevent it) was being done,” her mother said. “To both of us it was a complete surprise.”

Her father said families who worry about their own children need to stay involved and remain vigilant.

“Keep your children close,” her father said. “Love them. Give them support. Tell them this was not a viable solution.”

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.