A 15-year-old boy in West Virginia died by suicide within hours of being targeted in what investigators described as a fast-moving online “sextortion” scheme, a case that has prompted an FBI-led investigation and renewed warnings from US authorities about a growing form of digitally driven blackmail aimed at children.
Bryce Tate, a student at Nitro High School, was found dead at his family’s home on Kelly Road in Cross Lanes on 6 November after deputies responded to emergency calls from his parents reporting a shooting, according to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office and local reporting. Deputies arrived at about 7.10pm and found Bryce inside the residence with what authorities said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said a forensic review of Bryce’s phone and online communications indicated he had been targeted only hours earlier in an extortion attempt that began with contact from a person posing as a teenage girl. In a statement, the sheriff’s office said detectives established that Bryce received a suspicious message at about 4.37pm and that the incident escalated rapidly.
Authorities said the offender, pretending to be a 17-year-old girl, used a common pattern seen in financially motivated sextortion cases: a brief period of friendly conversation, followed by requests for explicit images and then threats once the victim complied. In Bryce’s case, investigators said he was pressured into sending nude images and then confronted with demands for money under threats that the material would be shared with family members and friends.
In a news release, the sheriff’s office said the extortion attempt unfolded in a matter of hours and that the threats intensified shortly before Bryce died. The office said: “These schemes often move quickly, and the emotional toll can be devastating.” It urged families to talk to children about online safety and to seek help immediately if they are targeted.
Local reporting said Bryce was subjected to a barrage of messages as the pressure mounted. LADbible, citing information provided by the family and authorities, reported that he received 120 messages in the 20 minutes before he died. The publication said the blackmailers demanded money and threatened to distribute the images if he did not comply.
Investigators said the extortion demand included a request for $500. According to reporting and public statements, Bryce offered a smaller amount, and the communications then became increasingly aggressive. The sheriff’s office said the offenders used intimidation tactics designed to create panic and urgency, leaving victims feeling trapped. The FBI has repeatedly warned that even when victims pay, perpetrators often continue demanding more money.
The case has been taken over by the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, the sheriff’s office said, as detectives continued to review digital evidence and identify those behind the account or accounts used to target the teenager. The FBI has not publicly identified suspects, and authorities have not released details of the platforms used beyond describing the contact as online communication.
Bryce’s parents have spoken publicly about their belief that the pressure exerted by the offenders played a direct role in his death, framing the crime as more than a scam. In remarks reported by People, Bryce’s father, Adam Tate, said: “They say it’s suicide, but in my book it is 100% murder.” He described the perpetrators as “godless demons” and said the family had been close and supportive.
His parents said Bryce had not been a troubled teenager and that he had a network around him, a detail that has become central to the warning they want other families to hear: that shame and fear can overwhelm even children in stable homes when the threats are constant, personalised and immediate. Investigators and child safety experts have long said that the sense of catastrophe created by these schemes can drive impulsive decisions, particularly among teenagers who may believe their reputations, friendships or futures are about to be destroyed.
The sheriff’s office said the case illustrates how quickly financially motivated sextortion can progress from first contact to threats. The FBI has described the model as a form of online exploitation where offenders coerce minors to create and send explicit material and then use it as leverage for money. In a public warning issued by FBI field offices, the bureau said the crime involves deception and manipulation designed to secure images quickly and convert them into financial demands.
In a separate FBI account of the broader threat, the bureau said: “Once the scammers have a victim’s pictures or video, they demand money to keep the explicit material from being shared with the victim’s family and friends.” The FBI added that, “Even when victims comply, scammers often demand more money and escalate the threats.”
US authorities say the crime has surged in recent years, driven by offenders who treat the extortion as a numbers game. The FBI said it saw a “20% increase in reports of financially motivated sextortion incidents targeting minors” during a six-month period ending in March 2023 compared with the previous year. In guidance to families, the bureau has urged children and parents not to pay, to preserve evidence, and to report the incident immediately to law enforcement.
The scale of the problem has also been documented by child protection agencies. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has said that in 2023 it received 26,718 reports of financial sextortion, up from 10,731 in 2022, based on reports from the public and electronic service providers. The organisation has described sextortion as a form of online exploitation that can involve threats to distribute intimate images, demands for money, and coercion to produce additional material.
Researchers and child safety groups say cases often begin on mainstream social platforms, messaging apps or gaming environments, where teenagers may be approached by profiles using stolen photos or fabricated identities. The aim, experts say, is to persuade a child to share an image quickly, then pivot to threats that play on embarrassment and fear of exposure. In some cases, offenders send screenshots of victims’ friend lists or family members to prove they can reach contacts directly.
In the West Virginia case, Bryce’s death has prompted his family to call for stronger penalties for online crimes that contribute to suicide. People reported that Adam Tate is advocating for “Bryce’s Law”, a proposed cyberbullying bill intended to increase consequences for online coercion and harassment that leads to self-harm. There is no publicly available text of the proposal in the reporting cited, and it is not clear what legislative pathway it may take, but the push reflects growing political attention in the United States to the harms caused by online exploitation.
Law enforcement officials have increasingly emphasised that families should treat sextortion attempts as crimes and emergencies, not private embarrassments. The FBI and child protection organisations advise victims to stop communication with the offender, block the account, secure their social media settings, and report the incident. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children encourages reports via its CyberTipline, which routes information to relevant law enforcement agencies.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office said its investigation began as a response to the shooting call and expanded after detectives recovered and reviewed Bryce’s digital communications. Investigators have not said whether the offenders were located inside or outside the United States, though the FBI has previously said many financially motivated sextortion cases are run by overseas networks and can involve coordinated operations targeting large numbers of minors.
While authorities continue to investigate Bryce’s death, the facts as described by law enforcement and reported by outlets covering the case point to a narrow time window between the initial contact and the fatal outcome. The sheriff’s office said Bryce received the first suspicious message at about 4.37pm and was found dead at 7.10pm, less than three hours later. The family and reporting said the final minutes included repeated threats, with LADbible citing 120 messages in 20 minutes.
Cases like Bryce’s have become central to the FBI’s public messaging on sextortion because they highlight a specific danger: the sense of immediacy created by the offenders. The bureau has said minors “often feel isolated, embarrassed, and cornered with seemingly no way out,” and officials have urged parents to stress to children that threats to expose images are a tactic to gain leverage, not an irreversible catastrophe.
In public discussions about the crime, investigators and child safety organisations have also noted that the illegal status of child sexual images can itself become part of the coercion. Offenders may claim the child will be arrested or publicly shamed, even though the victim is a minor. Authorities say those claims are manipulative and false in the context of reporting, and they encourage victims to seek help from adults and law enforcement immediately.
Bryce’s death has also touched off wider debate about how social media platforms and online services detect and disrupt coercion and impersonation, though investigators have not publicly identified which platforms were involved in this case. Child safety advocates have argued for faster reporting pipelines, stronger identity verification tools, and systems that flag rapid escalation patterns typical of sextortion, such as immediate demands for money and threats to disseminate images.
The FBI has urged families to treat online contact from unknown accounts with caution, particularly when it includes requests to move the conversation to encrypted messaging services or private channels. It has also encouraged parents to maintain open conversations with children, stressing that if something goes wrong online, the priority is safety and support, not punishment.
In West Virginia, Bryce’s parents have said their aim in speaking publicly is to prevent other families from experiencing the same loss. Their message, echoed by law enforcement and child protection groups, is that victims should not face extortion alone and that help is available quickly, even when the threats feel overwhelming.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call emergency services. If you are in the UK and need urgent support, Samaritans can be reached on 116 123. In the US, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by calling or texting 988.
