Gaming YouTuber Etika found dead days after being reported missing

Desmond Amofah, a widely popular gaming YouTuber known online as Etika, has been found dead less than a week after he was reported missing, the New York Police Department confirmed Tuesday. He was 29 years old.

According to The Washington Post, Amofah's body was found in New York's East River. Gaming website Kotaku reported that authorities found his body two days after police locating his belongings along the Manhattan Bridge.

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BuzzFeed News reported that concerns emerged about Amofah after he uploaded a video on YouTube last week in which he discussed his mental health. According to BuzzFeed News, he apologized for pushing people away and cautioned others about getting consumed in social media. The video was deleted but has been uploaded by others on YouTube.

"I'm sorry for leaving such a stained legacy," he said in the nearly eight-minute-long video, according to Variety. "I hope that my story maybe helps to make YouTube a better place in the future where people know boundaries and limits and how far things should go.

“You know I wasn’t suicidal before -- I really wasn’t," he said. "But one thing I didn’t realize was that the walls were closing around me so fast. I really had no intention of killing myself but I’d always push it too far. I guess I am mentally ill.”

Despite speculation that Amofah died of suicide, a cause of death has not been released by officials.

Amfoah had a following of more than 130,000 YouTube subscribers. He was most known for streaming and reviewing Nintendo games.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi! 👌🏾

A post shared by 9999999999999999999 (@etika) on

In April, Amofah tweeted about suicidal thoughts to his 320,000 followers, prompting concern from fans and the YouTube community. Later that month, on April 29, he reportedly livestreamed an incident with police in Brooklyn who came to his apartment after he allegedly threatened to harm himself. A police representative told Kotaku at the time that he was taken to a hospital.

Last fall, Variety reported, Amofah's main YouTube account was terminated after he uploaded porn to his channel. In response, he made a thread on his official subreddit, appearing to post suicidal thoughts.

Fans have made a Change.org petition to restore his main YouTube page to archive his legacy.

If you or someone you love is struggling with suicide or suicidal thoughts, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24 hours a day at 800-273-8255, or get more information at SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.

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