Teens found dead in Lakeland park identified

Lake Elmo, Minn., school officials reached out to students Wednesday after news broke of the apparent suicides of two local ninth grade students.

Oak-Land Junior High administrators informed teachers and students of the deaths on Wednesday and allowed students to meet with counselors if they wished, said Derek Berg, the school’s principal.

School officials also e-mailed news about the deaths to parents Wednesday morning. The note also contained information about grief support services available to students.

“Be aware that your child may experience strong feelings in response to this news and may acquire additional support,” Berg said in the

e-mail to parents.

The school is assembling a crisis team and plans to utilize counselors and school psychologists, as well as community counselors to assist students in need, the letter stated.

Lisa Marie Grijalva, 15, of Oak Park Heights and Jacob Z. Campbell, 14, of Lakeland, Minn., were found dead in a heavily wooded area in Humphries Park in Lakeland Tuesday evening, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities received a 911 call just after 7:30 p.m. reporting the discovery of the bodies, a Washington County Sheriff’s Office press release stated.

Sheriff’s deputies recovered a long-barreled weapon near the body of one of the deceased, the report stated.

The Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate the incident, sheriff’s officials said. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner is assisting in the investigation to determine manner and cause of death.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is not looking for others directly related to the investigation, said Sheriff Bill Hutton in a press release.

The scene was contained and there is not a public safety concern to the area, he said.

Oak-Land Junior High is located in Lake Elmo just north of Woodbury, near the Manning Avenue exit off I-94.

Lakeland, a small community on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River, is located just east of Lake Elmo along

I-94.

Hank Long is a reporter at

the Woodbury (Minn.) Bulletin, which is owned by Forum

Communications Co.

Tags: news, minnesota, suicide