HELOTES – Family, friends and the community at O'Connor High School are mourning the loss of one of their own.
On Tuesday night, they held a candlelight vigil for Joshua Biggles, 15, who drowned on Sunday night, south of Medina Lake at Paradise Canyon.
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"Josh was a great guy," O'Connor head football coach David Malesky said. "He was more than a great guy, he was a great young man and yes, he was a great athlete as well."
Biggles was on the varsity football team, getting ready to start his junior year of high school.
Those who knew him said he had a bright future ahead of him. So, when the word got out that Biggles had drowned Sunday, his family and friends were just devastated.
"Me and Biggles were best friends," said Mckayla Valero, a friend. "Every football game, we'd run out together and say, 'Good luck. I love you.' Our bond was unstoppable."
Vivian L. Cuffin-Mead, Joshua's mother, said her son was caring and positive and that he impacted not only fellow students, but also adults. She said seeing the crowd at the vigil on Tuesday made her proud.
"It feels so good," Mead said. "It just showed the lives that Joshua touched. I can feel the outpouring."
Hundreds of people showed up to the vigil Tuesday, but because there were so many people, not everyone had a chance to speak.
Friends said there will be another opportunity for to speak at his Wake from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Victory Worship Center.