PORTLAND, Tenn. (WSMV) - A dark cloud hangs over the community of Portland as residents rally around the family of 11-year-old Sophia Ballinger, who died by suicide over the weekend.

“She was one of the kindest, lovingest little girls you’d ever meet in your life,” said Sophia’s Uncle, Brandon Brewer. He says his niece was found by her mother in their home after Sophia attempted to take her life.

She was hospitalized but died over the weekend. Now her family is fighting for answers as to why.

“She suffered some depression that we knew of because her father, several years back, had done the same thing and we know that she suffered from that,” said Brewer. The family also suspects she may have been bullied at school, which remains under investigation.

Through this dark time, the family i

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