Kailia Posey, a beauty pageant competitor who appeared on several episodes of the TLC reality show between 2011 to 2012, has died at age 16. Kailia Posey died by suiide.
‘I don’t have words or any thoughts. A beautiful baby girl is gone,’ Posey’s mother, Marcy Posey Gatterman, posted to Facebook late Monday night, confirming her daughter’s death.
Earlier speculations had it that the Toddlers and Tiaras star had died in an accident, but it’s unclear whether a vehicle was involved. Also, netizens have been searching if it’s possible she took her life.
Washington State Police confirmed that authorities were investigating a juvenile death at Birch Bay State Park, in Blaine.
Birch Bay is a 194-acre state park located along the Strait of Georgia shoreline, about nine miles from the Canadian border, and features a scenic rocky beach and large camping ground.
State police responded to the scene on Monday around 1.26 pm to assist the Whatcom County Sheriffs and park service.
Posey had just celebrated her 16th birthday on April 19 and attended her high school prom over the weekend.
Posey starred in Toddlers and Tiaras, a TLC series following the families of children who competed in beauty pageants. The reality show ran for seven seasons from 2009 to 2013.
Posey began competing in pageants when she was three years old. She became a popular meme after she was caught grinning from ear to ear during a segment on Toddlers and Tiaras.
She kept up with the pageant circuit throughout childhood and adolescence, having most recently competed for the Miss Washington Teen USA title in February.
Although she was not crowned the winner of February’s competition, Posey earned the title of Miss Lynden Teen USA last year.