Ellen Edwards says she mysteriously began shedding pounds four days ago. It all started last Thursday when the 60-year-old, who lives in Alaska, inexplicably lost her appetite and energy.

Edwards finally understood why on Saturday, she said. She received a call from detectives in Portland, Oregon. Sean Smeeden, the nephew she had raised as a son during his early adolescence, had been shot to death Thursday evening, the detectives told her.

Her soul already knew, she believes.

“When Sean’s soul left this earth, a little bit of me went with him,” Edwards said.

Officers found Smeeden, 39, dead on a MAX train platform at North Interstate Avenue and Prescott Street at around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. His killing was one of two fatal shootings in Portland that night, police reported. A suspect in Smeeden’s killing, Moyasar Osman Mohamed-Ahmed, 29, is in custody, according to police.

Edwards remembers Smeeden, born in Anchorage, as the happy, energetic 10-year-old who came to live with Edwards and her now late husband. Smeeden’s mother, Edwards’ sister-in-law, suffered from drug addiction and his father wasn’t in the picture, Edwards said.

For a while, Smeeden thrived, attending school regularly after rarely doing so for years.

“That kid was so incredibly smart,” Edwards said.

He also took part in track and field and wrestling, enjoying the chance to be active and a part of something, she said.

But then, when Smeeden was around 14, his mom stepped back into his life. Edwards had no choice but to let him go.

“I had to release him from safety, to her,” Edwards recalled.

When Smeeden was 17, his mother died of an overdose – but he only returned to Edwards’ home for a few days. He began couch surfing, and he and Edwards fell out of touch, she said.

Sheri Johnson, Smeeden’s cousin, remembered Smeeden as a “free spirit” who lived life on his own terms.

The cousins were only one year apart in age and grew closer after Smeeden’s mother died.

“We probably bonded the most over music,” Johnson said, remembering how Smeeden introduced her to artists like the heavy-metal band Pantera when they were growing up together in Alaska.

About 10 years after his mother died and he left Edwards’ house, Smeeden reconnected with his aunt.

“Aunty Ellen, that was the worst decision I ever made when I walked out of your property,” Edwards remembered him telling her.

From then on, Smeeden called Edwards sporadically. She learned he was struggling with mental-health issues and addiction, and she tried to direct him to support, but it was impossible for her to know where Smeeden would be next or when he would call.

Johnson described going years without hearing from Smeeden, then bumping into him in Anchorage or him showing up at her door. No matter what hardships he went through, he was always a “breath of fresh air” and maintained a positive outlook, she said.

Edwards last heard from her nephew three or four years ago. He called her from Michigan and asked for a bus ticket.

She hoped he was OK out there, traveling about. But then the Portland detectives called, notifying Edwards that the beaming boy she had raised for a few years had been shot to death.

“I was totally blindsided,” she said. “I didn’t even know he was in Portland.”

As she grieves, Edwards holds on to memories of his boyhood. He had a harder life than most but was capable of amazing things, she said.

“He was a good person,” she said. “He was a good person who struggled.”

— Sujena Soumyanath is a reporter on The Oregonian/OregonLive’s public safety team. You can reach her at 503-221-4309 or ssoumyanath@oregonian.com.