A sad ending for Cayman Naib

It is the gnawing, stabbing pain I get in my gut every time I deal with this kind of story.

I will never get used to it. Or at least I hope I don't.

There is nothing more unnatural that a parent burying a child.

That is now the fate of the parents of Cayman Naib. The 13-year-old from Newtown Square had been missing since last Wednesday night. These stories all too often do not end well. I had the very same feeling about this one, once again hoping I would be wrong, fearing that I was not.

The worst kind of news was confirmed Sunday night. After five days of searching, Cayman Naib's body was found covered in snow in a shallow portion of a creek behind his family's Newtown Square home.

Over the weekend hundreds had responded to the family's call to join in a search for the eighth-grader.

That is the part that grabs me. Not the fact that the community rallied around a family in need. We see that happen all the time. It is the best part of our nature. After the discovery of Naib's body, hundreds gathered again last night for a vigil in his honor at Shipley School, where he attended classes.

The part that stuck with me is that Cayman Naib was in eighth grade.

I was a bit puzzled by the different pictures of him released by by the family. In a couple he really did look like a teeanger. But in several he looked very much like what he was, a very young kid. An eighth-grader.

A lot of people no doubt will wonder what happened in this case. We'll likely get more details later today, when an autopsy is completed.

It won't make any difference.

Caymay Naib is gone. And he was in eighth grade.

It's just so damn sad.

Comments

Unknown said…
I don't know why this one hit me so hard, but it did. When we were kids we walked off anger and frustration and then went home. That was the end of it. I grapple with how hard it is for teenagers today as I watch my son trying to balance his ever so busy schedule and academic requirements. Teenagers seem to have more stress than I remember having growing up. I hug mine a little more, let him have more down time and pray to God everyday that I never have to feel the pain these parents are going through right now. My heart goes out to all of them.
Anonymous said…
Phil, I agree. This one hit hard. I wanted someone to find video at a train or bus station to indicate he went on a thrill trip. As nothing materialized, it felt more and more scary. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and the Shipley community.
Anonymous said…
Phil, thank you for your thoughts. I could not agree more. It is tragic. I wanted video to materialize that he was at a train or bus station. I hoped that he was taking a thrill trip and would be found. As time went by it felt more scary. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Naib family and the Shipley School community.
Anonymous said…
I know your pain. I wish I did not but I do. I am so deeply sorry for the loss of your dear, dear boy. ((hugs))
michael wood said…
To hear he was found dead was very sad, to hear he took his own life felt crushing and must be devastating for his family. So young, so much ahead of him. We can only offer our hope and prayers. Times like these can pull them apart or draw them closer.