Heartbreaking news out of South Carolina shatters the silence of a community as the body of a young college student is found after a haunting disappearance on Halloween.
The devastating story of Owen Tillman Kenney, a 19-year-old College of Charleston student from Tinton Falls, New Jersey, unfolded with his disappearance on October 31, followed by the grim discovery of his body in the waters near Patriots Point on a Saturday morning.
The New York Post reported that Kenney, a recent graduate of Red Bank Catholic High School in New Jersey, was last seen by friends around 2 a.m. on Halloween after leaving a party near King Street and Burns Lane, just a short walk from his home.
Shortly after parting ways with friends, surveillance footage captured Kenney walking alone onto the pedestrian walkway of the Ravenel Bridge, roughly three miles from his last sighting, around 3 a.m. on that fateful night.
His phone's final signal pinged from the same area at the same time, painting a chilling picture of his solitary journey into the early morning hours.
Police later confirmed through video evidence that Kenney tragically took his own life on the bridge walkway at 3:49 a.m., a gut-wrenching revelation that shifted their efforts from search to recovery.
Charleston Police Chief Chito Walker expressed gratitude for the collective effort, stating, "I would like to thank everyone who took part in the effort to get Owen back to his family."
Walker’s words are noble, but let’s be real—while community support is vital, it can’t undo the pain of such a preventable tragedy, and it begs the question of whether our society is doing enough to address the mental health crisis among young people.
The chief also urged respect for privacy, adding, "We hope this recovery brings some measure of closure to a family experiencing unimaginable loss."
College of Charleston President Andrew T. Hsu echoed the sorrow, saying, "There are no words that can ease the pain of losing someone so young and so full of promise."
Hsu’s sentiment hits hard, but in a world obsessed with progressive agendas over practical solutions, are campuses truly equipped to support students battling silent struggles, or are they too busy policing speech to notice the real cries for help?
The president called for unity, emphasizing the need to support grieving friends and classmates, and encouraged students to seek help through the campus Counseling Center.
After nearly a week of searching, Kenney’s body was located in the water near Patriots Point around 8:45 a.m. on a Saturday, marking a somber end to a desperate mission.
This tragic outcome forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about the pressures facing today’s youth, often ignored in favor of trendy social causes that dominate public discourse.
