On March 16, the Davie Police Department and Public Safety officials reported that Erik Lemelbaum, assistant coach for the middle and varsity boy’s lacrosse teams at NSU’s University School, was found dead in the west parking garage.
Sgt. Pablo Castaneda of the Davie Police Department said that the department received a call at approximately 6 a.m. Wednesday that there was an unconscious man lying in a stairwell in the parking garage on NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus. Lemelbaum was found dead at the scene.
Details have yet to be released about Lemelbaum’s death, which is under investigation by Davie Police.
“At this point, the investigation is still ongoing…because there was nothing obvious and because of his age – [Lemelbaum] was a young man, we definitely will investigate it as a suspicious death until we gather more information,” Castaneda said.
He added that police are awaiting the results of the medical examination, which may take weeks to complete, to determine the cause of death.
“Until we get all the information…we can’t make an official determination saying ‘this is what happened,’” he said. “We’re doing our due diligence.”
According to Castaneda, Lemelbaum’s girlfriend reported him missing prior to his death on March 15, and multiple conversations were posted on Facebook seeking information as to his whereabouts. A preliminary search was conducted on NSU’s campus after the report was filed, but at the time, Lemelbaum was not found.
Because Lemelbaum’s girlfriend did not know of any mental or health issues when she reported him missing, Castaneda said Lemelbaum did not meet the criteria to be labeled as a missing person and the investigation was not continued until the police department received information his body was found.
According to Castaneda, there is certain criteria needed in order for an adult to be identified as an endangered missing person because, as an adult, people can do whatever they wish to do, unless there are known health issues.
“Because certain criteria has to be met in order for a person to be labeled as an endangered missing person, and the person at the time did not meet that criteria, we were unable to label him as an endangered missing person,” Castaneda said.
The University School administrators and Peter Caproni, assistant professor in the College of Psychology, notified the middle school, junior varsity and varsity lacrosse players of the situation last week. Crisis counselors from the University School and NSU will be available to students and staff.
Jan Northrop, boys lacrosse director at University School, met Lemelbaum two years ago, when Lemelbaum became a part of the U School community. He described Lembelbaum as someone who made in difference in the lives of those around him and who lived and breathed lacrosse.
“He changed lives,” Northrop said. “Erik was a really passionate guy about lacrosse. A lot of people talk about the lacrosse brotherhood, and he really lived that.”
Lemelbaum, originally from Syracuse, New York, worked with numerous lacrosse programs and teams, including the Broward Barracudas. He was also a contributor and was featured in the sports journal “Inside Lacrosse” and was in the process of starting the Lemon Heads, a lacrosse team for students to play the sport in northern states.
Lemelbaum is survived by his son Logan Lemelbaum, who resides in Syracuse. Services for Lemelbaum were held March 19 at Boyd Panciera Family Funeral Care. There will also be a memorial held in Erik’s honor at the AutoNation Field at the University School on March 23 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
A GoFundMe account was set up to help pay for Lemelbaum’s funeral expenses. As of March 20, nearly $14,000 has been raised out of the $15,000 goal. To donate, visit gofundme.com/r5ukc2wc.
