Gibbs High football player's death under investigation

• The Knox County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a Gibbs High School sophomore.
• No details have been released about the cause of death for 15-year-old Zach Munday.
• Authorities are awaiting the results of an autopsy before releasing more information.
• Munday is being remembered as fun, vibrant and full of faith.

The Knox County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of Gibbs High School student Zachary Munday, according to KCSO spokeswoman Kimberly Glenn.

The 15-year-old's death was confirmed Thursday by Erica Estep, a spokeswoman for East Tennessee Children's Hospital.

"Once the autopsy is complete, and the investigation is complete, then we’ll be able to release more information," Glenn said.

"And on behalf of Sheriff (Tom) Spangler and everyone here at the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, our prayers go out to the family and to the entire Gibbs community."

Authorities have not provided details of the circumstances surrounding Munday's death.

Munday, who had just finished his sophomore year, had remained in a coma in the hospital's intensive care unit since at least Monday, according to a Facebook post by his stepmother, Melissa Suarez Munday.

A followup post Thursday morning indicated the teen's heart, liver and kidneys were harvested for donation.

"Zach will be saving 4 lives today," Suarez Munday wrote. "We love you sweet boy."

Friends describe energetic, happy teen

Munday played football at Gibbs and ran track in middle school, said Alexus Tate, who graduated from Gibbs this spring. She met Munday through mutual friends at Gibbs and said they were close.

"He was very outgoing and energetic," Tate said. "He was always excited to make new friends and try new things but he was also the kind of person you could talk to about anything and no matter what time of day it was. He’d be there to make you feel better and put a smile on your face."

According to a Facebook memorial fund created to benefit Munday's family, he worked at Aubrey's in Lenoir City and was an active member of Young Life. 

Pastor Brandon Blair, known by many as Pastor B, said Munday accepted Jesus Christ last summer during a youth event at Fairview Baptist Church in Corryton. At the time, Blair was the church's student pastor.

"On the last night, we had a night of baptism, and he was baptized in front of everybody in the church," Blair said. "And for believers, that means the world for them as far as hope and comfort that this is not the end — that they'll see him again." 

That doesn't mean that those who loved him are not hurting. Blair saw the heartbreak firsthand while at the hospital with Munday's friends and family. 

"The room was filled with people who loved him," he said. "This hurts the whole community. This hurts all those young people." 

Pastor: Memories never die

Blair said it's important to remember the contagious good qualities Munday embodied and the priceless memories he helped create — his kindness, his smile and the love he shared with friends. 

"Those things never die," he said. "Some people have moments where they express who they are, but there's other folks who that's just who they are all the time — all the time being kind and a caring person with a great heart." 

For the Gibbs community, Munday's death marks the second loss this month. A car crash on May 22 claimed the lives of Bryce Collier, a 19-year-old graduate of Gibbs High who also played football for the Eagles, and Cameron Smith, a 20-year-old who previously played baseball and basketball at Pigeon Forge High School.

Staff writer Hayes Hickman contributed to this report.