update: Heart goes out to friends and family. Jeana’s body was found found Friday night. By Wednesday police just rule it was an accident.
We are so sad to report this tragic news (which is separate from our holistic doctor death series); well-known autism advocate, Jeana Beck, aka Gina Smith, was found dead last weekend on or around November 17th. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the founder of “Unlocking Autism.”
Beck was traveling with her son, who is autistic. Police say she went outside to smoke but never came back. The next night, police found her deceased in a canal behind the Rodeway Inn where they were staying. 1 Police said almost immediately they do not suspect foul play, which many experts have found absurd.
We have talked to several in Beck’s camp, one of whom said that if she were murdered, they do not believe it had anything to do with her autism advocacy.
We’ve added a Go Fund Me link since someone in her camp asked us- we are of course more than happy to do so: you can donate to the GOFUNDME and read it here.
We know Unlocking Autism was a follower of Age of Autism. (Their editor, Dan Olmsted, was found dead earlier this year of alleged suicide.) As you can imagine, the family wants answers and aren’t ruling anything out. We will update you with more information as soon as we can.
In the meantime see our video below with news broadcast. The family says they want answers NOW. We are thinking of them.
Erin Elizabeth
