Elementary school mourns ‘absolutely amazing’ gym teacher found dead near Parrish home
A Manatee County family and elementary school are in mourning after a gym teacher was found dead a week after being reported missing.
Justin Darr, 39, was reported missing on Jan. 10, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said. His family and friends hadn’t heard from him for several days and feared that he was in danger.
When deputies arrived to check on him, there was no one inside Darr’s home in the 4000 block of Cottage Hill Ave. in Parrish. His pets were still inside, and his car was parked there.
Darr’s body was found a week later, on Sunday, not too far from his home in Parrish.
Medical examiners conducted an autopsy on Monday and said they found no signs of trauma or any injuries that would suggest his death was a homicide. Results from his toxicology report are pending, the release said.
Investigators are continuing to look into his death, but they have not determined how he died.
Darr was a gym teacher at Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School, in the Lakewood Ranch community. After working as a paraprofessional for the School District of Manatee County, he later obtained his college degree.
Darr worked at McNeal for over nine years and was beloved by many students, some of whom are now in middle and high school but still have fond memories of him, Principal Sheila Waid told the Bradenton Herald on Tuesday.
“He has always been absolutely amazing with the students,” she said. “I walked around the classroom and some of the students were talking about their favorite memories with coach Darr and their faces just lit up.”
Darr was like a “magnet for kids,” Waid said. ”Kids wanted to be around him, and it didn’t matter if a child had disabilities or found the activity difficult in any way, he would make it successful for you. He liked that challenge.”
Before becoming the school’s principal, Waid worked as the dean, and she always admired Darr’s can-do attitude when it came to working with students and his smile.
“Any time I had a student that needed extra help, he was all in. “He would tell her “I got it, Principal Waid, I’ll take care of it, and he always did.”
Waid told the Bradenton Herald that Darr will be greatly missed by students and faculty.
Counselors, social workers and psychologists were at school Tuesday to talk with students and teachers as they cope with the loss.
The last time faculty and students saw Darr was the last day before winter break.
The school’s staff and faculty returned to campus on Jan. 6, but his family reported him missing just three days later.
Waid said she hadn’t noticed anything different about Darr leading up to the winter break, and he was looking forward to the holidays.
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 4:14 PM.
