As she stood up to get off the bus a stop early on her way home from school, 11-year-old Ursula Keogh handed a friend a handwritten note in an envelope which read 'Do not open until after 6pm'.
By the time the her friend had dutifully followed those instructions, Ursula was dead, having jumped 30 feet from a bridge into a rocky river below.
In the note, the Yorkshire schoolgirl wrote that she had 'given up' and stopped fighting'.
The heartbreaking revelation - along with news that young Ursula had been planning to take her own life for several months - was revealed at her inquest in Bradford yesterday.
Senior coroner Martin Fleming ruled she had taken her own life in a pre-planned bid to jump from the bridge, adding Ursula's resolution in her actions was 'very difficult to reconcile in the case of such a little girl.'
The inquest heard that Ursula Keogh, who lived in Halifax, died of a head injury at around 6.55pm on January 22, sustained from falling from a height.
Ursula Keogh, 11, was reported missing by her mother on January 22 after she sent a troubling text which read 'I love you but so sorry'
Ursula's body was found in the River Calder at Paris Gates in Halifax hours later
The court heard she was a 'troubled young girl' who was 'struggling with the stresses and strains' of a breakdown of marriage between her parents.
The Lightcliffe Academy pupil was reported missing in January this year, after her mother received a text which read: 'I love you, so so sorry'.
On the day of her death Ursula went to school as normal, but her mother Nicola Harlow revealed in hindsight that she had been unusually affectionate, turning to say 'I love you' and giving her a kiss as she left for the day.
Writer Nicola Harlow told her daughter's inquest that it was 'strange' behaviour from Ursula. At 3.30pm she texted her mum again, with the message : 'I love you, so so sorry'.
When her mum rang her phone 14 minutes later it was picked up by a stranger who had just found it lying on the ground at the top of the bridge, close to a floral memorial to a previous victim.
Several hours later her body was recovered from the River Calder at Paris Gates in Halifax.
Teachers reported her behaviour as normal on the day she went missing - but after handing her friend the pre-written suicide note she got off the bus one stop early to walk to the bridge alone.
No members of the public are known to have witnessed the Ursula fall but CCTV footage of it was found.
A police investigation found no evidence of bullying or any foul play and senior coroner Martin Fleming ruled she had taken her own life in a pre-planned bid to jump from the bridge, which he said was 'very difficult to reconcile in the case of such a little girl'.
Following her death, detectives from Calderdale CID found Ursula had been writing and looking at suicide information on Instagram and had been messaging someone in Indonesia about her intentions, some three months earlier.
The National Crime Agency tracked the individual down who was cleared of having anything to do with inciting her tragic actions.
Other documents and drawings indicating suicidal ideas were found in her room after her death.
No-one saw her fall but members of the public were alerted by her phone and handbag, near the bridge's edge, a police statement said.
Her body was found a mile downstream about three hours later.
Police said Ursula was last sighted on North Bridge, near to where her mother hosts a radio show on local station Pheonix FM. Ms Harlow is also a full-time author and lectures in creative writing for the Open University.
Ms Harlow and her partner, David Keogh, had lived with Ursula in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire before moving to nearby Halifax.
Novelist Nicola Harlow (L) told Bradford Coroner's Court that it had been 'strange' to see her daughter Ursula (r) to turn back and say 'I love you' as she walked to school on the morning of her death
In a statement to the inquest her mother said that Ursula was very bright and could beat adults at cards. She had played the violin since a young age and was excellent at maths.
Coroner Mr Fleming heard lengthy evidence revealing that Ursula was above average intelligence and had managed to conceal her mental illness from school and health professionals.
Mum Nicola said her youngest daughter had struggled with her divorce from her father David Keogh.
She said Ursula had become more reluctant to spend time with her dad and revealed the gifted youngster had suddenly said she didn't want to play violin any more, something she had done since the age of three.
The inquest heard the youngster has problems beginning last year, when it was discovered she had been looking at suicide sites on Instagram. She was later found to be self harming, ExmainerLive reported.
Ms Harlow said Ursula had told her that she 'felt her friends were in a bubble of childhood and she was not', and that one day when Ursula was crossing North Bridge with her, the girl had she seemed fascinated by flowers left there.
She added: 'Ursula seemed older than her years, very deep and sensitive.'
West Yorkshire Police issued this handout photograph of Ursula (L) during their brief search for the girl, which ended in heartbreak for her mother Nicola (R) when her body was found
Ms Harlow said in her statement: 'Her hormones were all over the place. She was spending more and more time in her bedroom. She didn't want to see her dad anymore.
'I'm not sure what had changed. I was advised that Ursula had been accessing suicide pages on Instagram. Her phone was then confiscated, which generated tension between us.
'In November we noticed marks on her arms.'
Ursula's father said he had been unaware of his daughter's self-harming, but was worried about her social media use after she told him about a child's suicide note she had seen online.
He said his daughter had known that the day of her birth was the happiest day of his life - he had told her 'so many times'.
Coroner Mr Fleming criticised the family GP after hearing that Mr Harlow has been 'sent from pillar to post' between the GP and the school regarding her daughter's self-harming, and never had a face to face appointment.
He told the doctor Ms Harlow was feeling 'fobbed off', adding: 'You're saying go to the school and the school is saying go to the GP. In that scenario people can fall through the net.'
He said lessons must be learned, and that he would be writing to mental health chiefs to see if any lessons can be learned.
The coroner heard that the surgery had since changed its protocol and will now offer face to face appointments as soon as reports of a child self harming are received.
A counsellor from relationship counselling service Relate, who had seen Ursula, insisted she saw 'no red flags' and 'no presentation of suicidal intent'.
Mr Fleming also urged Calderdale Council to act faster to make the historic 1871 built bridge safer.
Richard Mills from the council said they had considered temporary fencing but ruled it out due to planning issues.
He said a permanent higher fence would hopefully be in place by May and a new CCTV camera was due next week to allow closer monitoring of the bridge.
Mr Fleming asked him to reconsider a temporary deterrent.
He concluded the inquest by saying: 'It's clear that Ursula was a troubled young girl and was struggling with the stresses and strains of a break down in marriage.
'But she was giving her mother and father no cause to think she was harbouring such dark thoughts.
'Ursula went to that bridge with resolute and planned determination to jump, which is very difficult to reconcile in the case of such a young girl.'
For confidential support in the UK, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch. See www.samaritans.org for details.
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News Pictures ‘I love you’: Daughter's parting words to mother on day 11-year-old's body was found in river
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