This note was placed in the backpack of a black student at Swain Middle School on April 1. The student, seventh-grader Cassie Miles, discovered the note after lunch when she opened her backpack to get out a book for her next class.

Her backpack was unattended in the gym during lunch. Rather than taking backpacks into the lunchroom, most students leave their backpacks in the class they attend immediately proceeding lunch.

The student did not immediately show the note to a teacher or principal because she thought school officials might take the note, refuse to give it back and possibly deny it existed, according to the student. She gave the note to her mother when her mother picked her up from school that afternoon.

School Superintendent Robert White said if the person who planted the note in Cassie’s backpack is discovered, he or she would be disciplined by the school.

“It would be a school issue, and if we so wished, it could become a criminal issue,” White said. “I think it would be handled through the school system.”

However, Bryson City Police Chief E.J. Buchanan said the case is being investigated by his department as a criminal offense.

“The school’s responsibility would be educating kids about prejudice. Law enforcement’s responsibility would be determining who sent this,” Buchanan said.

A police report on the incident cites the following misdemeanor crimes: racial intimidation and communicating threats.

“Mrs. Powell stated that she feared for her daughter’s physical well-being,” the police report states. “Mrs. Powell stated she feared these types of incidents may demoralize her daughter and result in the development of an unhealthy attitude, disrupting her daughter’s school studies, and asks that measures be taken to correct these issues.”

District Attorney Mike Bonfoey met with Buchanan Monday to learn about the case and asked Buchanan to keep him updated as the investigation continues.