MIAMI _ Bryce Gowdy, the star wide receiver from Deerfield Beach High and Georgia Tech signee who died Monday, had been dealing with mental health issues and the strain of his family's financial problems and recent homelessness, according to his mother.
Hours after his family checked into a hotel on Sunday night, Gowdy's body was found by the train tracks near Deerfield Beach around 4 a.m. Monday. His death was ruled a suicide by the medical examiner Tuesday. He was 17.
For more than 11 minutes in a video posted to her Facebook page on Tuesday, Gowdy's mom Shibbon Winelle talked about her son's final days. With tears rolling down her cheek, she noted how he was "talking in circles" and asking "a lot of questions about spirituality and life" while also wanting assurances that his mom and brothers would be OK once he left for college, which he was set to do next week.
In one sense, Winelle said in the video, Gowdy was happy. He talked about the positives in his life and his chance to get a degree at a school like Georgia Tech while still playing football.
But, Winelle said, both she and her son were dealing with their own personal "demons."
Gowdy's manifested more than ever during the last three days, with Winelle saying he kept "talking about not being trapped by doors and mirrors."
"He kept talking about the signs and the symbols that he was seeing all over the place and that he could see the world for what it really was," Winelle said. "He kept saying he could see people for who they really are."
Winelle said in the video she had been seeking help for months and was working a job that she said wasn't paying her on time or in full. She was stressed trying to figure out how to make ends meet and make sure her three children were OK. She developed chest pains.
It made it tough for her to help Gowdy fight his own personal battles, she said in the video.
"I told him, 'Bryce, you have to dig within and fight these demons that you're fighting,'" she said to the camera. "I told him I wasn't strong enough to help him right now and I have my own demons that I was trying to fight."
She stayed in the car momentarily while Gowdy and her other older son went into the hotel room. Gowdy came back to the car shortly afterward to sit with her.
Winelle said she told Gowdy he needed to "get it together," "toughen up" and "get his mind right."
Gowdy tried to hold his mom's hand, attempt to calm her down. She pulled away.
"He had me so upset, so anxious," Winelle said. "I said 'I can't deal with that energy now, baby.' I wouldn't let him grab my hand. I wouldn't let him hold my hand because his energy was so intense.
"I could feel the pain in his soul, and it was breaking my heart."
When Winelle went upstairs, Gowdy repeatedly asked if she was OK.
After calming down in the bathroom, she asked Gowdy if he could go get her favorite blanket from the car. Gowdy went, leaving his phone, wallet and shoes in the hotel room.
Twenty minutes later, Bryce still wasn't back but the blanket was gone from the car.
Winelle sent one of her younger sons to look for Gowdy to no avail. He tried to console her, saying Gowdy was going to be OK.
"I knew in my heart he wasn't," Winelle said.
The family is still mourning Gowdy's death. The Deerfield Beach football team is holding a candlelight vigil for him at the school's football field Thursday night. His funeral will be at the school's auditorium next weekend.
The school has grief counselors on hand Thursday to help athletes, coaches, students and other community members cope with Gowdy's death.
A GoFundMe page created Monday to help the family financially has already received more than $84,000 in donations as of late Thursday morning.
