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Body of missing CHS athlete pulled from PK Lake
By Dan Eakin, deakin@starlocalnews.com
The body of Jacob Logan, the Coppell High School athlete who jumped from a 36-foot-high cliff into Possum Kingdom Lake last Sunday afternoon, was recovered about 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
Judi Pierce, Brazos Rover Authority public information officer, said a justice of the peace had positively identified the body of the 17-year-old senior who was one of three captains on the Coppell Cowboys and played wide receiver and defensive back.
He had jumped from the cliff about 2 p.m. Sunday while attending a birthday party with several friends from Coppell.
Divers from various organizations searched the deep waters of the lake near the cliff from which Jacob jumped for more than four hours Sunday afternoon and then again for about 12 hours each day Monday through Thursday.
The body was taken to the medical examiner’s office Thursday night. The medical examiner is expected to determine whether Jacob died from drowning or from injuries sustained in the fall.
Funeral services were pending Friday.
The body of the highly-respected athlete was recovered less than 24 hours before the Coppell Cowboys were scheduled to play in Flower Mound. Many of the students, faculty and others were expected to wear ribbons of blue, Jacob’s favorite color, at the game.
The tragedy seemingly cast a gloom over the entire Coppell High School student body and faculty. Jacob was one of three team captains and often offered brief words of inspiration just prior to a game.
As many as 300 students or more and others met at the Coppell High School football field Sunday night for a prayer vigil for the missing student. Grief counselors were busy at the high school earlier this week, counseling students who were obviously upset.
Members of the Coppell Cowboys walked silently and somberly toward the field house shortly before 7:30 a.m. Monday to meet with Coach Joe McBride, who had tweeted the night before, “I’m so grateful that God honored me with 3.5 years of coaching Jacob Logan.”
McBride said Tuesday morning, “We’re holding up as good as expected and are trying to move on, but our hearts are broken. Anybody that has played football knows that within the locker room it is very tight. We consider each other family, and that’s why it hurts so much. But it’s also why it’s important to be together and pull tight. We’re in a place and time where we all love each other.”
He added, “Jacob was a bell cow. He painted a great picture and was a mentor for a lot of kids on how to live, practice and play. When we run on that field, we want to hear that bell and follow what he set.”
He concluded, “What the Lord gave Jacob was toughness and leadership abilities. He was a high-character kid who was loved. He made great choices in life and in his peer group and he was a no-maintenance kid. He is a guy that stood for something. Everyone in the school knows that, and I challenge everyone to follow his lead by standing up for what you believe in.”
Several of the players said they had been playing football with Jacob for several years, even before high school.
The Coppell Cowboys, one of the top ranked football teams in the state, have a 6-0 season record. Fans are waiting to see how the Cowboys will fare against Flower Mound Friday night without Jacob Logan on hand as one of the team’s best-ever defensive backs and wide receivers.
Jacob, his sister, Jordan, and his parents, Howard and Mona Logan, attend Irving Bible Church. However, Rich Roush, minister to students at Valley Ranch Baptist Church, said Jacob often attended activities and worked in youth ministry with his friends and fellow athletes at Valley Ranch.
Roush said, “When asked of what I feel about Jacob, I am mindful of a tweet of his from a few weeks back: ‘God does not fail. Jobs, sports, and people will fail you. God does not fail.’ It was obvious to all that he was raised well by Mona and Howard to be a kid of strong character. He loved God, trusted in the gospel of grace, and he walked humbly under it. There is no doubt. He will be missed.”
Sports writer Justin Thomas contributed to this story.
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