Kailia Posey death rocks hometown, child pageant world

The reported suicide of 16-year-old “Toddlers and Tiaras” star Kailia Posey might renew longstanding questions about the culture of child and teen beauty pageants, which are known to be fiercely competitive and potentially mentally harmful. In the more immediate term, Kailia's death has devastated her hometown of Lynden, Washington, near the Canadian border. In her most recent competition, she represented her hometown as Miss Teen Lynden in the Miss Teen Washington contest. Her mother, Marcy Posey Gatterman, confirmed her daughter's death in a Facebook post.