'Just too easy' | Louisville mother turns grief into warning after teen daughter dies by suicide

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville mother who lost her youngest child to suicide shared a message she said every parent needs to hear.

Sarah Salyer was 13 years old when she took her own life. For her mother, April Salyer, every photo of her daughter pulls her back to the time they had together.

"I miss the light that was in her eyes," Salyer said, flipping through old photo albums. "At some point you can look at pictures and tell it wasn't there."

Salyer said Sarah was a social butterfly who loved animals and was an athlete. But she also battled depression from a young age. Her family sought help through counseling, inpatient stays and medication.

A pamphlet from Sarah Salyer's funeral. *(WDRB photo)*

Her mother said just weeks before her death, she seemed happy.

"I didn't see it coming," Salyer said.

In a moment of crisis, Sarah had access to a gun.

"For her to know it was there, it was just too easy," her mother said.

Sarah, whose parents divorced when she was young, was at her father's house. Salyer said she believed all the guns in the home were locked in a safe, but Salyer says at least one was not.

On Oct. 30, 2020, time stopped for Salyer.

"His words were 'She's gone,'" she said. "And I'm like, gone where?"

Sarah was just 13 years old when she was buried.

"The headstone, that was probably the hardest," said Salyer. "What do you put on it? How do I some up somebody's life in one line?"

Salyer said her daughter's death wasn't inevitable.

"It's preventable. Put a gun lock on your gun," she said. "Why, why do you have them accessible? Gun locks are now sold with guns, why aren't people using them?"

According to the Kentucky Department of Education, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for young Kentuckians, citing the Kentucky Youth Risk Behavior Survey. It showed 15% — 1 in 7 — of Kentucky high school students "reported having seriously considered suicide within a 12-month period," while 17.4% — nearly 1 in 5 — Kentucky middle school student reported that they had "seriously considered" taking their own life at some point.

Gun safety organization Everytown said guns are used in more than half of youth suicides and are fatal 90% of the time, compared to just 4% without a firearm. Everytown said removing access to guns is one of the fastest ways to reduce risk. Johns Hopkins University recommends storing firearms locked, unloaded and separate from ammunition.

While Salyer can't turn back time, one small action could stop another life from becoming a memory.

"We just wanted her to be happy and comfortable in her own skin, I said all those words to her," she said.

If you or a loved one are struggling with mental health, call or text the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

For additional resources and information on suicide awareness and prevention, click here to be directed to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or click here for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

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