2 Students from Same Atlanta High School Found Dead, Police Say Cases Are Unrelated

Susana Morales, who was reported missing more than six months ago, was found dead earlier this week while Rodrigo Floriano Mayen's parents found him dead at a friend's home on Monday

Photo: gwinnett county police department

An Atlanta area high school is mourning the deaths of two students that were found dead as authorities say the cases are unrelated.

The remains of 16-year-old Susana Morales were found by a passerby near Drowning Creek Road in Dacula, Georgia, on Monday, according to 11 Alive. Susana, a student at Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, Georgia, about 20 minutes from Atlanta, was first reported missing over the summer.

The parents of Rodrigo Floriano Mayen, another Meadowcreek student, found his body at a home in Tucker, Georgia, also on Monday, per the news outlet. They had received tips from social media about his location, which is also roughly 20 minutes from Atlanta.

Rodrigo allegedly died of an overdose and a 17-year-old, presumed to be his best friend, is in Gwinnett County Jail facing charges for allegedly hiding his death.

Gwinnett County Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Rodrigo's mother, Francisca Mayen, grieved the loss and told 11 Alive, "I feel as if my whole world has crumbled around me."

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She shared a pointed message on finding her late son.

"Because we did their job which was to find him. I gave police leads. I told them where he was, where they needed to go. I found him," she told 11 Alive.

During an interview with WSB-TV, she urged parents to "check" on their teenagers know their friends.

"We need to check more," she said. "Who's the friends? Who's the parents?"

"My heart is broke," she told WSB-TV, adding of Rodrigo, "He never come back."

His father also told the outlet, "I made the report, and I said, I do everything. I find him, my family needs help to find him. We find him."

Susana was last seen alive on July 26, 2022, according to a post from Crime Stoppers Atlanta that showed a flyer from the Gwinnett County Police Department. The next day, her mother called police and said Susana had told her she was going to a friend's house.

"Her family has not spoken to her since," police said at the time about Susana's disappearance, adding in the alert, "Her sister last saw her location around 2230 hours via an app on her phone and she was near Oak Loch Trace."

Police said that Susana "has no history of running away and usually maintains close contact with her family."

In a memo sent to the school's parents on Thursday and shared on its website, principal Kevin Wood said in part, "It is with deep sadness that I inform you about the tragic loss of two members of our Meadowcreek High School family. Within the last 48 hours, we have lost two of our former students. Our hearts and thoughts are with family, friends, and loved ones of both students as they cope with this tremendous personal loss."

"This sad news, coupled with the way some learned about it, may raise many emotions, concerns, and questions from our school community, especially from some students," he continued, letting parents know that counselors and social workers were available to support students.

PEOPLE reached out to Wood but did not immediately hear back.

A man who said he was one of Susana's teachers urged supporters to pray for the school in a Facebook post.

"Please pray for the Meadowcreek School family...," wrote William Jones on Wednesday. "the teen that was reported missing last July of last year was found Monday and records confirmed today that it was her...she was one of my chorus students...#SusanaMorales."