A Memorial for Gabriel Jaden Coates

This blog is dedicated to a beautiful young soul who chose to leave this earth after three short years. While he was here, Gabriel touched the hearts of many lives and deeply touched the heart of his father and brother whom he left behind. Gabriel will always be remembered for the love he gave to those who knew this little man. He will be greatly missed on earth and always remembered. As a tribute, this blog is for Gabriel and his story. May it inspire others and move them to compassion. May it give a sense of timelessness while reminding us all how temporary life on earth can be for any one of us. Cherish those whom you love and are spending time with while they are here.

Please contribute to Gabriel's Memorial Fund. His grieving Father would appreciate any help in gathering funds to lay his soul to rest and to pay for a memorial service. Send donations by paypal to angelsforgabriel@gmail.com or click the donate button in the sidebar. God bless you for your compassion.

The Memorial Service information will be announced on this blog for those who want to contribute. We will be posting photos of Gabriel Jaden Coates in celebration of his life. We will be uploading photos of the gathering where he made his crossing into the eternal world. Pray for comfort for his family.

News reports about the drowning. Please keep in mind that these reports may not be completely accurate.
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Mail Tribune

Boy, 3, drowns in Siskiyou County creek

May 25, 2009

A 3-year-old California boy camping with family members drowned Sunday in a Siskiyou County creek, police say.

Gabriel Jaden Coates was attending a gathering at an unimproved camp on Antelope Creek two miles south of the Siskiyou County town of Tennant, said Susan Gravenkamp, a Siskiyou County sheriff's office spokeswoman.

The boy and a brother, 9, had gone for a walk, and the older boy returned to the camp and said Gabriel was being watched by someone else, Gravenkamp said. When the boy's father, Loren David O'Conner, of McKinleyville, went to check on the toddler, he was no longer with the person who had been watching him, Gravenkamp said.

She said people at the gathering searched for the boy for two hours before contacting police.

Police officers, Forest Service employees, search and rescue volunteers and citizens continued the search and found the boy's body in the creek that afternoon, Gravenkamp said.

— Staff reports
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Record Searchlight Online

Boy found dead in Siskyou County at Rainbow Gathering

By Record Searchlight staff
Originally published 03:21 p.m., May 25, 2009
Updated 03:21 p.m., May 25, 2009

TENNANT -- A 3-year-old boy was found dead in a creek Sunday afternoon by rescue crews after the boy had wandered away from his family's Rainbow Gathering campsite, officials said.

About 30 members of the nomadic Rainbow Gathering group had gathered over the weekend off of Highway 97 on Antelope Creek in rural Siskiyou County, said Siskiyou County sheriff's spokeswoman Susan Gravenkamp.

Around 11 a.m., Gabriel Jaden Coates, 3, and his 9-year old brother had gone for a walk away from the campsite, Gravenkamp said.

The older brother returned to camp to get some candy and told his father, Loren David O’Connor, 32, of McKinleyville that another person at the camp was watching the boy, Gravenkamp said.

Gabriel never returned, and O’Connor went to check on him.

"The person watching Gabriel said the little boy was just there just a few minutes earlier," Gravenkamp said.

The campers searched for Gabriel for about two hours and then one of them drove to a residence in Tennant and called for help, she said.

A few hours later, a firefighter found the boy dead, under the water entangled in the limbs of a tree that had fallen across the creek about 50 feet downstream from the camp site, Gravenkamp said.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the boy's exact cause of death.