Wisconsin morning news anchor dead from apparent suicide at 27: 'She radiated love and positivity'

Neena Pacholke, a television news anchor for ABC television affiliate WAOW in Wausau, Wisconsin, died on Aug. 27 at the age of 27.

On Monday, Pacholke’s older sister, Kaitlynn Pacholke, confirmed to the Tampa Bay Times her sister’s passing, saying Neena died by suicide.

“My sister was by far the happiest person I thought I knew,” Kaitlynn told the Times.

“Sometimes you just don’t know what people are going through, no matter how much you think you know someone,” she added. “My sister had access to every resource you could imagine. She was loved by everybody. She was so good at her job.”

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WAOW first announced Neena’s death on Sunday and wrote that “the entire team here at News 9 are absolutely devastated by the loss as we know so many others are as well.” The station’s announcement of her death included a callout for mental health resources.

Neena Pacholke Facebook

“Neena loved this community and the people who lived here,” the station added. “She was a kind person with a big heart and a contagious smile and we will miss her greatly.”

Neena was a high school basketball star at Freedom High School in Tampa, Florida, and went on to play three years of college basketball as a guard at the University of South Florida, where she was a member of two teams that appeared in the NCAA Tournament, according to the Times. Her professional website shares that she joined WAOW as a multimedia reporter in 2017 and started working as an anchor in 2019.

University of South Florida

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Kaitlynn Pacholke told the Times that Neena, who was engaged to be married, had grown into a Green Bay Packers fan and an avid snow skiier while working in Wisconsin.

“Being your co-anchor Neena was an honor. You were Batman and I was Robin,” Neena’s co-anchor, Brendan Mackey, wrote in tribute to his colleague Monday on Facebook. “When I joined WAOW you made it clear we were going to work hard and compete with the best.”

“Let’s remember Neena Pacholke for the beautiful person she was. The brightest light in the room. The biggest smile and the funniest laugh,” he added.

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The most recent post Neena had shared on Twitter before her death was an Aug. 18 post by author Jon Gordon about staying positive in spite of life’s hardships. “Give yourself (and others) grace. Speak life and encourage others,” the post read. “Look for the good today. Remember your WHY. Believe the best is yet to come.”

“She just radiated love and positivity, and she just cared so much about pouring into other people, and always put other people first,” Kaitlynn Pacholke told the Times on Monday. “I think she did that at the expense of not caring about herself.”

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.

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