Maria Kruger was supposed to meet her mom at work early Thursday.

The 13-year-old had stayed with her father the night before, and her mom, Stefanie Kruger, had planned to pick up a few extra school supplies with Maria the next morning before dropping her off at Rogich Middle School.

But Maria never showed up, Kruger said. Frantic, she called Maria's father, who had shared custody of the teen for about 10 years.

As they tried to piece together where Maria was, the girl sat atop a parking garage at Red Rock Resort, 11011 W. Charleston Blvd., shortly after sunrise.


About 7:45 a.m., she leapt to her death.

"We used tracking on her iPhone to find out where she was," her mother said Friday, sniffling quietly. "It had already happened by the time everything had been connected. It was already way too late."

If Maria was being bullied, her mother didn't know about it. Police are investigating whether fellow teens ever tormented the girl online or at school, which started Monday.

The mother said Maria was stressed about class and the close of summer but "not any more than any normal kid. Not to this degree."

To her knowledge, suicide "was not even in the realm of possibility," she said, struggling with the question, "Why?"

Though it was unclear if the coroner had ruled the eighth-grader's death a suicide as of Friday, police responded to an apparent suicide call at the Summerlin resort before 8 a.m., where the girl was found dead, dispatch logs show.

"She was an amazing kid. Always happy. Loved her friends unconditionally," her mother said, listing the things her daughter liked to do: Play cello, go to concerts.

The most recent concert the pair went to was Twenty One Pilots, one of Maria's favorite bands.

"We had the most amazing time," her mother said. She and her daughter were "extremely, extremely close."


On Friday, Kruger said she was working to plan Maria's funeral. About $2,800 had been raised for expenses through GoFundMe as of late Friday.

"I really hope Red Rock puts maybe fencing or something around the openings in the parking garage," the girl's mother said, still shell-shocked. "It was way too easy for her."

Station Casinos, which owns Red Rock Resort, did not respond to an after-hours request for comment Friday.

In May, 13-year-old Sukjeevan Sodhi died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The boy went to the same school as Maria, his family said Friday on Facebook.

"My heart goes out to this family," the post read. "I am so sorry for their loss."

The Clark County School District did not issue a statement in reference to the girl's death Thursday, and the school did not send a parent letter home with students Friday, said spokeswoman Melinda Malone, who declined comment but shared a statement on bullying. "CCSD takes all allegations of bullying seriously. While we cannot comment on any child's student file, school administrators are required by state law to notify parent of any bullying reports received."

Edward Ableser, who worked as the director of the Nevada Department of Education's anti-bullying office, said his office received no notice or report of bullying regarding Maria as of Monday, when he left the position as district schools resumed classes. He could not confirm if any reports had come in this week.

"This is just horrible and my heart breaks for this girl and her family," Ableser said.

Though Maria's death had not been linked to bullying as of Friday, anyone can report a bullying incident to the county school district online at www.ccsd.net/bullying. Information about bullying can also be found through the state's bullying prevention hotline, 775-689-0150, or at http://bullyfreezone.nv.gov.

A vigil for friends and family is being planned, Kruger said.