Mississippi Teen Ava Byars Died Unexpectedly at 14 — What Happened?

A 14-year-old girl from Philadelphia, Miss., Ava Byars, died unexpectedly on Sept. 19, 2025, per an online obituary. But those who aren't close to the teen or her family want to know what happened to Ava Byars and if the cause of death was released to the public.

The obituary has little information, with promises of more details to follow, but does list her funeral date for Sept. 24, 2025.

Prior to that, Ava's school, Leake Academy, shared a Facebook post where a prayer vigil honoring the teen was announced to take place a few days before her official funeral service.

At the time of her death, Ava was 14. She was known in the community as a cheerleader who was devoted to her Christian religion.

Although there has not been an official announcement made to the public about what happened to Ava, someone did comment on the prayer vigil post that Leake Academy made on Facebook.

The user, who said she does not know the Byars family personally, wrote that she heard what happened to Ava through her prayer group.

"What I was told, it was a fall that she had a head injury from a seizure while showering," the user commented on the Facebook post. "I didn't know her personally, but we had the family in our ladies' prayer group. God plucking one of his most special for his bouquet."

Ava's family has not come forward to confirm that the teen died from an unexpected seizure. Still, it sounds like her death was sudden and not related to any underlying illness that Ava had battled previously.

One of Ava's sixth-grade teachers made a Facebook post about her unexpected death. He shared a handful of pictures of her and wrote that Byars jokingly referred to herself as his favorite student.

"Tell Jesus all your jokes, sweet girl, I know he'll laugh even more than I did," the teacher wrote in his post. "Please keep Ava's family and friends in your prayers as they face this heartbreaking loss."

The mom of one of Ava's friends posted on Facebook to share that, following Ava's death, a group of her friends got together to share stories about her.

Their hope, per the post, is to keep her memory alive and grow closer to God and their faith because of the loss, as they try to understand why she died.

Following the news of the teen's unexpected death, Leake Academy, a private Christian school in Philadelphia, Miss., posted on Facebook to share the school's thoughts and prayers with Ava's family and friends.

The school wrote that Ava was "a friend, a teammate, a classmate, and a bright light" in the community.

"It is with deep sorrow and heavy hearts that we share the unexpected passing of our beloved student, Ava Byars," Leake Academy wrote in the statement. "We know that words cannot fill the emptiness we feel, but we hope the memories we all share of Ava will provide comfort in the days to come. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to her family, friends, and all who were lucky enough to know her."