Sierra took the weapon but left the soft leather gun cover on her parents' bed, and when Pamela Woodward saw the empty holster 45 minutes later, she started searching for her daughter.

It had been raining, and the ground outside was wet. Rock music was still coming through the girl's headphones when Pamela found her daughter in the corner of the yard. She tried to rouse the girl, then saw the blood and head wound.

After her funeral, someone named "Sissy" wrote a heart-breaking note on Sierra's online memorial page.

"I love you so much. I thought it was enough to save you."

The Utah Youth Suicide Study, the state's most careful analysis of this issue, provides the best profile of those young people who "complete" suicide.

• 89 percent were male.

• 58 percent used firearms.

• 93 percent were Caucasian.

• 74 percent killed themselves at home.

• 63 percent had contact with the criminal justice system, and half of those had referrals for substance use, abuse or possession.

• Only 3 percent were using psychotropic medications when they died.

• Only 2 percent were active in public mental health treatment.

Why, parents ask. Why so many teenagers in Utah?

There is tremendous pressure on young people today, mental health experts say. Like the second-grade girl saddled with a bevy of extracurricular activities and 16 pages of nightly homework who recently came to the office of child psychiatrist Karen Black.

"This kid is really bright," she said. "But she looks very unhappy and is feeling pretty pressured."

There is also no question guns are a factor, experts say.

Beyond that, there are only pieces to a complex puzzle and questions.

Studies show 90 percent of young people who take their lives suffer from mental illness. Though some are on medication, most are not. Antidepressants have lowered suicide rates, according to studies in 14 countries.

But what is normal teenage angst and what is depression and suicidal behavior?

Combining mental illness with drug abuse is the deadliest of combinations. "Having both of these raises the risk another level," Gray said.

Teenage suicides are high in all the Rocky Mountain states. Is there some fierce sense of Western independence that contributes to Utah's high ranking?

Utah does rank near the top 10 suicide rates nationally, but it is misleading to say it alone has an epidemic. The Rocky Mountain states have a 30 percent higher rate than the rest of the country, Gray said, and nobody really knows why.

The Eggetts went through a litany of questions. Was it our fault? What could we have done differently?