Another article which was also published that same day:
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St. James Leader-JournalParents seek answers for deathBy St. James Leader-Journal
Posted Apr 29, 2010 @ 12:38 PMSt. James, Mo. — More than three weeks after their daughter's death, Stephen and Debbie Hopkins of O'Fallon still are looking for answers.
The parents of Heather Marie Hopkins, 18, are trying to learn what happened to their daughter, who died April 2.
Heather Hopkins was enrolled at Boys & Girls Town in St. James.
According to Lt. Rick Hope of the Phelps County Sheriff's Department, "This is still an open investigation, and I really can't say much more than that. I can tell you we don't expect any foul play, and it was neither an accident.
"We do expect an end to the investigation in the very near future."
A statement from Vince Hillyer, president and CEO, Great Circle (the parent agency name for Boys & Girls Town) said, "It is with great sadness that we report a young woman who was a resident at the Boys & Girls Town St. James campus passed away Friday morning April 2.
"One of our female residents appeared to have stopped breathing while she slept. After our staff took extensive life-support efforts, she was taken by ambulance to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
"We continue to work with local law enforcement and local health authorities in the investigation. We are still awaiting test results from the Medical Examiner, but all indications are that she died from natural causes.
"Our staff members and other residents are devastated by the death of this wonderful young person," Hillyer said. "Her family remains in our thoughts and prayers. They joined us for a memorial service on campus to honor their daughter. Boys & Girls Town counselors continue talking with residents and their parents to help them through this very difficult time."
Boys & Girls Town officials said they couldn't confirm the name of the female resident or provide additional details because of HIPAA privacy laws and because the case is still under investigation.
In the meantime, the Hopkinses say they are trying to piece together what happened.
Debbie Hopkins said she received a call from B> at 5:07 a.m. April 2 saying her daughter was unresponsive and that she was being transported to Phelps County Regional Medical Center in Rolla.
She said she received another call approximately five minutes later that her daughter had passed away.
Monday, Debbie Hopkins said she and her husband don't know much more than they did then.
She said she has talked with Boys & Girls Town but "they won't tell me what I want to know, which is what happened in that cottage."
She said she had talked with her daughter at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 1, and Heather told her she "was feeling bad," complaining of being sick with a fever.
Debbie Hopkins said her daughter had been at Boys & Girls Town 35 days and was due to stay another 60.
She said Heather had been diagnosed as bipolar, with depression and ADHD and had been battling medication issues.
Prior to Heather being admitted to Boys & Girls Town, "There had been a lot of shuffling of Heather among hospitals," noted Debbie Hopkins. "She had been receiving excellent care" up until an apparent medication overdose resulted in another round of hospital changes.
Stephen Hopkins said the family had asked for an autopsy, looking for some definitive answers.
Debbie said she had been told it would take at least six to eight weeks before the results would be available.
Copyright 2010 Leader-Journal.