The Arndt family (Karragh, Travis, Kol and Kallum) is seen in a 2013 trip to San Diego along with Karragh Arndt’s brother, Rykken Young. (Photo courtesy of the Arndt family)

The Arndt family (Karragh, Travis, Kol and Kallum) is seen in a 2013 trip to San Diego along with Karragh Arndt’s brother, Rykken Young. (Photo courtesy of the Arndt family)

Auke Bay boy’s death linked to dangerous ‘choking game’

  • By LIZ KELLAR
  • Friday, June 9, 2017 11:57am
  • News

In video after video, young giggling teens can be seen filming themselves and each other playing the “passout” or “choking” game.

“That is how you make … people pass out,” says a teen boy in one clip after demonstrating the move on his girlfriend. “It’s really funny.”

A quick internet search uncovers one YouTube channel devoted just to these choking game videos, with 154 listed; each one has thousands of views.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

But the “choking game” — which is also known as flatliner, space monkey, blackout, the knockout challenge and the fainting game — can have deadly consequences.

Just six weeks ago, an Auke Bay boy was found not breathing in his room after possibly playing the game by himself. Eleven-year-old Kolbjorn Arndt never regained consciousness and died April 27.

Kol’s parents, Travis and Karragh Arndt, said that before his death, they had never heard of the choking game.

“You worry about a million things, but that was not on the list,” said Karragh. “It was unimaginable.”

The Arndts agreed to speak publicly about Kol’s death in the hopes of preventing a similar tragedy from striking another family.

“The important thing is that no other kid does this, that parents realize these videos are out there,” Karragh said. “The consequences shouldn’t be so huge. … It’s really not fair. For an 11-year-old — he couldn’t understand the consequences. It didn’t occur to him.”

Read more.

Kol Arndt is seen with his younger brother Kallum and his father, Travis. (Photo courtesy of the Arndt family)

Kol Arndt is seen with his younger brother Kallum and his father, Travis. (Photo courtesy of the Arndt family)

Kol Arndt. (Photo courtesy of the Arndt family)

Kol Arndt. (Photo courtesy of the Arndt family)

Kol Arndt. (Photo courtesy of the Arndt family)

Kol Arndt. (Photo courtesy of the Arndt family)

More in News

Nikiski graduates view their slideshow during a commencement ceremony at Nikiski/Middle High School in Nikiski, Alaska, on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘We need to change the world’

Nikiski Middle/High School graduates 31 on Monday.

State Sen. Lyman Hoffman (D-Bethel) exits the Senate Chambers after the Senate on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, adjourns until next January. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Alaska Legislature adjourns a day early in ‘smoothest ending in 20 years’ following months of budget battles

Lawmakers speed through final votes on veto override on education funding bill, budget with $1,000 PFD.

Rep. Andi Story (D-Juneau), Rep. Rebecca Himschoot (I-Sitka), and Rep. Sarah Vance (R-Homer) watch the vote tally during a veto override joint session on an education bill Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Education funding boost stands as lawmakers successfully override Dunleavy veto

Three of the peninsula’s legislators voted to override the veto.

Jeff Dolifka and his children perform the ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula’s Royce and Melba Roberts Campus in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘So proud of what we accomplished’

New Boys and Girls Clubs campus dedicated Saturday with a ribbon-cutting and donor recognition.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters about his decision to veto an education funding bill earlier this session at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. He vetoed a second such bill on Monday. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Dunleavy vetoes 2nd bill increasing education funding; override vote by legislators likely Tuesday

Bill passed by 48-11 vote — eight more than needed — but same count for override not certain.

Graduate Paxton McKnight speaks during the graduation ceremony at Cook Inlet Academy near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Beginning a new season of their lives

Cook Inlet Academy graduates seven.

The wreckage of Smokey Bay Air plane N91025 is photographed after residents pulled it from the water before high tide on April 28, 2025, in Nanwalek, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of NTSB)
Preliminary report released on Nanwalek plane crash

The crash killed the pilot and one passenger and left the other passenger seriously injured.

Member Tom Tougas, far right, speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Tourism Industry Working Group in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Tourism working group rejects bed tax, recommends seasonal sales tax adjustment

The document includes a section that says the borough could alternatively leave its tax structure exactly as it is.

The rescued sea otter pup looks at the camera in this undated picture, provided by the Alaska SeaLife Center. (Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)
Stranded otter pup rescued from Homer beach

She is estimated to be around 2 months old and was found alone by concerned beach walkers.

Most Read