The Barometer Online

Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Contributed Photo

Alex Thompson will always be remembered as kind and gentle. His family and friends said he was always surrounded by support and love. He was the kid that everyone wanted in their classes. He was smart and he was funny.

At 11 a.m. on April 18, Susan Thompson, Alex's mom, randomly decided to text her son to ask about his day. He quickly replied, saying he was hiking in Redmond, Ore. She said she was thrilled to hear he was enjoying his weekend, doing activities they had done as a family.

Alex was with a group of friends hiking at Smith Rock State Park. He and his friends were attempting to cross the Crooked River. The backpack he was carrying was making his journey increasingly more difficult, and he decided to turn back to shore, where he left the bag.

While attempting to cross the river a second time, he lost his footing and slipped, and was carried by the swift current.

Susan had no idea that the random text she sent her son that afternoon would be the last time she would speak to him.

An extensive search was conducted for Alex in the days following his disappearance, but there was no sign of him.

Susan said Alex was a good kid from the very beginning. His teachers in elementary school would call home to report that he constantly walked around smiling.

"That's just who he was, so full of life," Susan said. "Everybody always loved Alex and wanted to be around him."

Alex was an AP scholar with honors in high school, and was described as a very smart individual. Though he was a freshman at OSU, he was a sophomore standing because of the credits he entered the university with.

His teachers and coaches said he always listened to them and fixed whatever needed to be improved as soon as he was asked.

Alex played baseball, starting with T-ball in kindergarten and continuing through 8th grade. He also played football his first two years in high school. Susan said his coaches always raved about how coachable he was.

During his first year at OSU, he had decided to study biochemistry and biophysics. His mom is a registered nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital in Portland, and he also has other family members in the medical field.

Recently, he had been looking into the nursing program at University of Portland and was interested in becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist.

"He was having such an enjoyable year at OSU," Susan said. "We loved watching him have so much fun, and becoming his own man."

Continued...

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