Wausau Pilot & Review

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Chat online at 988lifeline.org.

Neena Pacholke, a Tampa, Fla. native who anchored the WAOW-TV morning show in Wausau, died Saturday, according to the news station. She was 27.

A post on the WAOW.com website read: “The entire team here at News 9 are absolutely devastated by the loss as we know so many others are as well. Neena loved this community and the people who lived here. She was a kind person with a big heart and a contagious smile and we will miss her greatly.”

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Pacholke was a high school basketball standout who rejected small-college offers to remain in Tampa and play for the University of South Florida, where she graduated in 2017. She appeared in only a handful of games in three seasons but was part of two teams that reached the NCAA Tournament, the newspaper reported.

Prior to being named morning news anchor in February 2019, Pacholke was a multimedia journalist and reporter at WAOW. She had video production internships at Cumulus Media and at the Moffitt Cancer Center prior to her move to Wausau, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Pacholke had strong ties to Wisconsin even before moving to Wausau. Her mother, Laurie (Klade) Pacholke, is an Appleton native.

In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, a family member confirmed Neena Pacholke died by suicide. The newspaper urged anyone struggling with thoughts of self-harm to reach out to the 24–hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255; contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741; or chat with someone online at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

Pacholke is survived by her mother, sister, fiance and father, along with her many friends, colleagues and viewers who came to know her.