What Happened to 13-Year-Old Ava Claire Hageman?

As the community of Mount Pleasant, Texas, mourns the loss of 13-year-old Ava Claire Hageman, people are wondering what happened to the teenager.

Ava died on Dec. 7, 2025. She was a student at Mount Pleasant ISD, in the seventh grade, and a cross-country athlete. So, what happened to the teenager?

Ava died on Dec. 7 following an accident. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Ava died from suicide, but the family has not confirmed the cause of her untimely death. Her obituary on the Bates-Cooper-Stone Funeral Home L.L.P. website stated that the teen was born in Dallas, Texas, on June 4, 2012.

"With profound sorrow and abiding hope in Christ, our family announces the passing of our beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, and cousin, who went home to be with Jesus on Dec. 7, 2025," read the obituary. "She was a bright and especially beautiful 13-year-old seventh grader whose joyful spirit and tender heart blessed all who knew her. She loved God’s creation, especially being outdoors, creating, and exploring."

The obituary added that the teenager was "particularly gifted at fishing, golfing, and really loved running cross-country, playing softball, and playing basketball."

"Wonder came naturally to her," it continued. "She was exceptionally smart and had a special gift with children, always patient, playful, and welcoming. She was the life of the party."

Ava's mother, Jennifer Hageman, had shared a post on Instagram back in September that featured pictures of her daughter at a cross-country meet. The seventh grader placed an impressive 39th out of 154 at the meet.

The post was captioned, "Super proud of my girl. She placed 39 out of 154 in cross-country meet yesterday in Cumby. Go Ava Claire."

Mount Pleasant ISP also shared the sad news of Ava's death on Facebook.

"It is with deep sadness that MPISD shares the loss of one of our students, Ava Claire Hageman," read the post.

"A celebration of life is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant. We ask our MP community to continue to lift up this family and her loved ones during this especially difficult time," it continued. "To her family, many of whom are MPISD alumni ... we are devastated alongside you, and we cherish the time we had with her. Always in our [heart emojis]. Once a Tiger, always a Tiger..."

A celebration of life service for the teenager will be held on Dec. 11 at 2:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant, and Ava's family has requested that people donate to the Pilgrims Bank fund that was established to renew Dellwood Park and build a community pool in Ava's honor. Ava is survived by her parents, Jonathan David Hageman and Jennifer McCauley Hageman, and her siblings, Connor and Haven.