Local News
“The silence he leaves behind is deafening,” Kailyn Lord wrote about her son in a GoFundMe description.
Tristan Major, who also went by Rohan Rhys. The Fall River teen drowned in a pond on July 12. GoFundMe
The mother of a 17-year-old boy who drowned in a Fall River pond earlier this week is remembering her son as a “brilliant, unique soul” who had big plans for the future.
“It breaks our hearts completely to know we will never see his beautiful smile again, or hear the jokes that always brought so much light (and some eye rolling) to our home,” Kailyn Lord wrote in a GoFundMe description about her son. “The silence he leaves behind is deafening.”
The night of July 12, three juveniles visited South Watuppa Pond in Fall River, the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a press release. Two of the young people went to swim to a floating dock; one of them “struggled while in the water and did not return to shore,” the DA’s office wrote.
Police divers recovered the teen’s body after a two-hour long search, Quinn’s office said.
On Tuesday, the DA publicly identified the drowning victim as Tristan Major of Fall River.
Writing in the GoFundMe, Lord said her son had recently chosen the name Rohan Rhys for himself.
“Just a few days ago, wanting a fresh start to leave behind the trauma his biological father put us through, we began the process of legally changing our names. We were starting out as a whole new family with our own traditions and our own motto,” she wrote.
Rohan was sharply intelligent, teaching himself how to read as a child and later beginning to teach himself how to speak Japanese, his mother said. He loved building things, being outdoors, video games, reading, and playing guitar. He had ADD and autism, which gave him an unconventional view of the world, Lord wrote.
“His mind didn’t operate like everyone else’s, everything to him was black and white, with no shades of grey. Yet, he constantly tried his best to understand the logic of others,” she wrote.
Rohan and his family planned to start a therapeutic horse ranch together, with the teen intending to oversee building and repairs while planting his own vegetable garden, his mother said.
Lord and Rohan’s three siblings are now “struggling to fight through this indescribable pain so we can keep this dream alive, but we’re trapped in this nightmare,” she wrote.
She asked for funding help to cover the costs of her son’s funeral and memorial.
“Whether you can donate or not, thank you for helping us honor Rohan Rhys, protecting his memory, and standing with our family,” she said.
In a statement released Monday night, Interim Superintendent for Fall River Public Schools Kathleen Smith confirmed that Rohan was a former student within the district. B.M.C. Durfee High School planned to make counselors available Tuesday for students and staff, Smith said.
“Although Fall River is a city, we are also a close-knit community, and tragedies like this are felt by many of us, even those who may not have a direct connection to the young man,” she said in the statement.
Police are investigating the drowning but do not suspect foul play, Quinn’s office said.
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