YouTube teen star dies

Caleb Logan LeBlanc PHOTO: YOUTUBE

LOS ANGELES • Teen YouTube star Caleb Logan LeBlanc, part of the popular Bratayley family on YouTube known for posting humorous, wholesome daily videos, has died suddenly at age 13, his family and the police said.

He died last Thursday in Maryland following a "medical emergency", the Anne Arundel County Police Department said in a statement on Monday. "Responding officers arrived and observed a juvenile male patient suffering from an unknown medical emergency. Fire Department personnel transported the juvenile to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased," the statement added.

The police said the death is not being treated as suspicious and an autopsy will be conducted in Baltimore.

LeBlanc's mother, Katie, wrote on her Instagram social media account last Friday that her son had died of natural causes, but did not give details. "Words cannot describe how much we will miss him. His incredibly funny, loving and wonderful spirit made us all fall in love with him as a YouTuber, friend, brother and son," she wrote.

The Bratayleys, whose name is said to be a play on the name Haley, have garnered more than 1.6 million YouTube subscribers with fun videos surrounding the three LeBlanc children's daily activities, such as gymnastics practice and play time with their dog, Piper.

LeBlanc, an avid video game fan, posted videos of his exploits on the computer game Minecraft, with some videos getting up to as many as 100,000 views.

In a video posted a day before his death, he seemed playful with his sisters at what appeared to be his family's home, talking about what he would ask his "future self".

"Are there any new sports? That's what I'd ask," he said, smiling and laughing.

Katie said her family, including her husband Billy and younger children Annie and Hayley, would take a break from YouTube.

Disney recently recruited the Bratayley family for its global live-streaming event surrounding the "unboxing" of the latest Star Wars toys last month. REUTERS

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 07, 2015, with the headline YouTube teen star dies. Subscribe