Coroner confirms teen’s death after parents say he was hospitalized from ‘choking challenge’

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - A teenager, who was hospitalized last week after attempting a challenge he saw on social media, has died according to the county coroner.

Reitz High School student Mason Bogard was taken to the hospital on May 1 after being injured while attempting the “choking challenge,” his parents wrote on Facebook:

On Monday, Vanderburgh County Coroner Steve Lockyear confirmed Bogard’s death. The coroner says he has not performed the autopsy yet, so the exact cause of his death has not been determined.

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office says right now their biggest concern is giving the family time to grieve.

The Sheriff’s Office says they have not yet found a link to Bogard participating in a social media challenge. The office will continue to look into the details.

In a statement the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation says: “Our focus today has been to provide additional support to the students at Reitz High School who are dealing with the sadness of losing a classmate. Our hearts go out to Mason’s family and friends.”

In the Facebook post, the parents stated they were in the process of preparing Mason’s body for organ donation, which they hope to finish on Monday. He was escorted into surgery with an Honor Walk at Deaconess Midtown.

The hospital will fly the Donor Flag for three days in Mason’s honor. His organs will give life to six people.

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