BY RACHEL DOVE
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

VAN LEAR — School personnel and students attending Porter Elementary in Johnson County have begun the 2022-2023 school year with a heavy heart as they cope with the loss of one of their own.

The body of 12-year-old Stacia Leigh Collins was located Thursday on strip mine property near Butcher Hollow in a rural part of Johnson County.

A police investigation began earlier that day when the juvenile’s father, Stacy Collins, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Van Lear community. The male was allegedly clinging to life and was transported to Highlands ARH in Prestonsburg and then transferred to the University of Kentucky for specialized care.

During the course of investigating the apparent suicide attempt, officers were informed that Collins’ daughter had been with him Thursday morning and that she had failed to show up for school. Attempts to reach the 12-year-old by her mother had been unsuccessful. A search ensued and the body of the deceased pre-teen was discovered after several hours. 

Summer Collins, the mother of Stacia and the estranged wife of her father, said the day before the fatal tragedy occurred, her ex had shown up at her attorney’s office and said he would agree to a divorce and wanted joint custody of his daughter. He asked to keep his daughter overnight and take her to school the following day, and the mother agreed.

According to statements Summer provided to the media, she received a text message Thursday morning that included a photo of her daughter dressed and ready for school. She then received a second text in which the father said, “Do you want to talk to your daughter one last time?” Summer replied and asked what he meant by that, but she never got an answer.

The mother also relayed that a gas company employee on the strip mine discovered her soon-to-be ex and called 911. It wasn’t until she was notified of the finding that law enforcement became aware that the female child had been in the father’s custody and was unaccounted for.

The deceased’s body was sent to the medical examiner’s office in Louisville for autopsy.

The funeral was held Monday at Phelps and Son Funeral Home in Paintsville, with a standing-room-only crowd in attendance.

No further information has been released regarding the medical condition of Stacy Collins.