Missoula sees jump in suicides

[ZombieHorde]

By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Missoulian

More Missoula residents took their own lives last year than any year since 1990, with a county suicide rate exceeding twice the national average.

In 2007, Missoula County recorded 24 suicides, for a total of 156 suicides since 1999.

“It's the highest I can recall,” said Capt. Greg Hintz of the Missoula County Sheriff's Office, which keeps track of annual mortality rates in Missoula.
Based on data released last month by the American Association of Suicidology and the Centers for Disease Control, the local figures reflect a statewide trend.

According to the recent numbers, Montana's rate of suicide ranks No. 1 among the 50 states, and has hovered among the top five states for the past two decades.

Between 1999 and 2005, the most recent year for which information is available, an average of 179 Montana residents died by suicide each year. The data show that 206 Montanans died of suicide in 2005 for a rate of 22 suicides per 100,000 residents - exactly twice the national average.

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http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/02/10/news/local/news03.txt