Teachers at Oak Manor Sixth Grade Center had the difficult task Thursday of notifying their students that one of their classmates unexpectedly died early that morning.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Department notified the school this morning that Destany Frick, 11, a resident of Howard Township, passed away in her sleep at 5:45 a.m.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office is investigating her death, which occurred at a residence on Wolf Street in Howard Township.

Upon attempting to wake the child for school, the child’s parents discovered that the child was unresponsive and immediately called 911 and attempted CPR. Medical and sheriff’s personnel responding to the scene discovered that the child was deceased.

An autopsy was ordered for the child and performed Thursday at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids. As is the policy of the sheriff’s office, the results of the autopsy will not be released until toxicology results are obtained. This usually takes one to four weeks.

Supt. Richard Weigel said a crisis management team was brought in, and teachers read a script to their students Thursday explaining what happened.

“Please do not make up or share stories that are untrue,” students were instructed.

Letters were also sent home to parents and guardians asking them to talk about the death with their families.

A crisis counseling team is available at Oak Manor for students who would like to talk to someone.

Destany’s death remains under investigation by sheriff’s detectives, however, foul play is not suspected.

Anyone with information regarding this incident can contact the Cass County Tipline at (800) 462-9328.