Radio announcer kills himself

He was a popular radio announcer who recently decided to go into freelance production work. So it came as a terrible shock to radio fans and media colleagues that Olden Young had committed suicide in Chetumal this week. The soft-spoken young man had been an integral part of WAVE Radio almost since its inception, starting out as an announcer and technician, and then becoming programming director. He worked briefly at The BEAT 94.5 FM and FM 2000 earlier this year, before deciding to strike out on his own. In December, News 5 spoke with Young at a Christmas party he and the WAVE staff had organized for underprivileged children.

Olden Young

“We will do our best to go out of the way to make sure that they have a little brighter Christmas this year.”

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting

That’s how twenty-eight year old Olden Young will be remembered by those who knew this energetic media personality. Young was always willing to give a helping hand to support a good cause.

Brian Mossiah, Friend

“Olden enjoyed working in public functions. If you were organising some big activity at the B.T.L. Park where people would come and enjoy an evening or a day of entertainment, he loved that. He loved being in that kind of limelight. And at the end of every event like that, after the party is over and everybody is gone, Olden is gonna be that person that sticks around for the cleanup and to set things to place; he’s that kind of a guy.”

Brian Mossiah, former general manager of Wave Radio, says Young loved working in radio and proved just how dedicated he was to the job on his very first day at the station.

Brian Mossiah

“He joined our staff, I think it was in 1999. When he came to Wave Radio he was looking for a job and at that time we were unable to employ him and Olden volunteered his time for almost two months. He was there every morning at seven o’clock and he worked right through the day until late evening. We had no choice but to find funding to pay him a salary after that.”

It’s not certain what could have happened to cause this creative young man to take his own life in a hotel room in Chetumal.

G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer

“As far as we understand, the Mexican authorities discovered the body of this individual in a hotel room in Chetumal. It was confirmed by identification, and indeed, there was a letter left to the effect that it might have been a suicide.”

Jacqueline Woods

“It is true that his body was found hanging from a beam inside the hotel room?”

G. Michael Reid

“This is what we have gotten from the authorities in Chetumal, yes.”

Jacqueline Woods

“Do you know when the body will be brought back to Belize?”

G. Michael Reid

“We understand that relatives are now in Chetumal securing the release of the body and should be bringing the body back either today or tomorrow.”

Brian Mossiah

“Olden is a very private person, but I happen to know from discussions we’ve had when we are having a “buddy talk”, he’s had some tough times in life and he has kept those feelings bottled up all these year. And I think the way he does that is by every time he is in the midst of group of people, he becomes the clown sort of, and that was how he was able to rise above whatever feeling or feelings he may have had at that particular time. But at the end of the day, you would still find him in a solemn moment sitting down thinking about whatever and what have you.”

Police would not reveal the contents of his suicide note, but News 5 understands that Young had recently received news that he had cancer. He told a number of colleagues he was going away to seek medical attention.