Minor Echo characters

This is a list of minor characters that appear or are mentioned in the visual novel Echo.

## Alvarez Family

The **Alvarez family** is one of the newer families to the Echo area and includes Leo and his close relatives. Originally hailing from Salvador, the Alvarez family were consistently threatened with violence due to their wealth in comparison to those around them. Eventually, this led to them seeking asylum by moving to the States and settling in Echo. At least some of the family is said to be very religious, though they are accepting of Leo being gay. At some point before the events of Echo, the family moved to Payton and left Leo to be the sole resident and owner of their former home in Echo.

After moving to the states, Leo's father **Ernesto** opened up a family-owned and operated garage in Payton where Leo and some of his other relatives work. Ernesto seems to be adamant about prioritizing family connections and occasionally imposes on Leo as a result. In Jenna's route, his name can be seen listed as one of the references on Carl's resume. **Mrs. Alvarez** is said to be a very welcoming and doting individual who treated Leo's friends like part of the family, particularly Jenna and Chase. She initially encouraged Leo to pursue Jenna romantically before he came out as gay, after which she happily accepted his relationship with Chase. Leo also has multiple siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews, including his older brother's son **Eduardo** and a cousin named **Angel** who is in a band.

## Adam Begay

**Adam Begay** was Jenna's older brother. According to Jenna, he got "worse" over time due to their parents' abuse and committed suicide sometime prior to the events of Echo. Aside from Jenna herself, Adam was the only member of Jenna's family to attend their grandmother's funeral.

## Begay Family

The **Begay family** is one of Echo's oldest families, and includes siblings Jenna, Jeremy, and Adam, as well as John Begay, an original founder of the town. All known members of the family have been part of the Meseta tribe, as well as kit or desert foxes. Other members include **Yanaha**, a character who seems to have been alive around the same time as John; Tsela, who appears in The Smoke Room; and **Jenna's parents**. By Jenna's lifetime, the family has become impoverished despite their original influence in early Echo.

Jenna's father was physically and verbally abusive toward the rest of his family, especially Jenna. On one instance, he removed Jenna's door from its hinges so she could not hide things. Less is known about Jenna's mother, though it seems she did not treat her children much better. According to Jenna, her parents would often steal and sell her belongings for drug or beer money. By 2015, Jenna's father had gone missing, while her mother's whereabouts are unknown.

## Boike

During the events of Flynn's route, Chase finds a poem written by an author named **Boike**. This is seemingly the work of Melissa Boike, a character from The Smoke Room who writes poetry.

## Eliza Bronson

**Eliza**, last name presumably **Bronson**, is the mother of Sydney and the wife of Mr. Bronson. Mr. Bronson mentions that he had once hoped to move away from Echo but came back to the town for his wife's sake. After the deaths of her husband and son, Eliza and her remaining family left Echo and their home was eventually sold to Injy.

## Carnival Cat

The unnamed **carnival cat** (labeled in-game only as **Carny**) is an employee of Southwest Adventures. He operates the Test Your Strength game that Leo and Jenna compete in on Sunday during the prologue. He is amused but sympathetic when Leo loses to Jenna despite their obvious mismatch in strength, and quickly uses the spectacle as a way to draw in more players.

His design is based on a real-life cat owned by the backer who funded his sprite.

## Casey

**Casey** is a desert fox. They are described as having a sagging face and splotchy fur, and Chase guesses that they are at least thirty years old. They appear in Flynn's route at The Smoke Room, where they appear to be one of the bar's employees.

## Charley

**Charley** was an elderly mouse who lived in a trailer near the Alvarez family's house. He passed away a few years prior to the events of Echo, after which Kudzu moved in to his trailer.

## Cynthia

**Cynthia** is a woman of unknown species mentioned by Duke as having run out into the desert during the events of Flynn's route. Her relationship to Cynthia, a resident of Echo during the events of The Smoke Room, is unknown if any.

## Dale

**Dale** is a fat otter and a cook at the diner. He has an addiction to painkillers. During Leo's route, Kudzu mentions Dale as going around telling others about the town meeting held in response to the hysteria.

## Daniel

**Daniel** was a 19-year-old ferret. A few years prior to the events of Echo, Daniel met Brian at a club in Payton and was subsequently kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. His body is buried in the mine.

In Leo's route, Brian attempts to murder and bury Chase in Daniel's grave.

## Darick

**Darick** is a coyote that appears in Route 65 as one of the teens attending the Day of the Dead party held at the abandoned Parson's Manufacturing building. He wears a green and white varsity jacket and a white baseball cap with a green brim.

After TJ accidentally startles Heather, a drunken Darick appears to "defend" her and ends up knocking Chase unconscious with a blow to the head.

## Falion

**Falion** was a rabbit and Kudzu's boyfriend. The two met in college and began dating long-term before eventually moving to Payton. One night, the two were mugged by an armed gunman and Falion lost his life attempting to deescalate the situation and protect Kudzu.

Falion's death shook Kudzu greatly, causing him to become a recluse and avoid making relationships altogether for a prolonged period. Kudzu kept a photo of the two together in his trailer as one of his few belongings with sentimental value. On Flynn's route, Kudzu is implied to have hallucinated Falion's corpse in place of Salem's during the town meeting.

## Heather's Father

**Heather's Father** is a character mentioned on Jenna's route. He was an employee at Daughter's Dam and taught his daughter about how to operate it as well. Behind closed doors however, he appears to have been abusive toward Heather in various ways based on what can be inferred from the state of their house as a dilapidated "castle" depicting him as the king and Heather as an infantilized princess.

During the events of Jenna's route, he is murdered by Heather during the Hysteria via gunshots to both eyes, so that he can no longer "look at her." His body is found by Chase and his friends and left in a closet in Heather's home.

## Hendricks Family

The **Hendricks family** is one of the oldest families in Echo, with the town itself having been founded by James Hendricks I. James was born to **Martin** Hendricks and an unknown mother and had two sisters, **Martha** and **Jane**. Martin frequently abused his family, which allegedly led to Martha's death at a young age and prompted James to leave the family.

After becoming rich, James would go on to send a yearly sum of money to Jane while their parents remained impoverished. In 1860, James married a young woman named **Emma**, with whom he had five children: **Thomas**, **Genevieve**, **Carol**, **Martha** (named for his sister), and most prominently, James II. One of these children had a son named **Peter**, who would take on James I's ice cream business following his passing. At one point Chase finds a pocketwatch belonging to a **Robert** Hendricks, who Carl states is likely a great uncle or some similar distant connection to him.

James III, the grandson of the original James Hendricks and the great-grandfather of Carl, and his wife Cordelia are featured in the Echo prequel game The Smoke Room. Their son Noah, Carl's grandfather, also briefly appears.

## James Hendricks II

**James Hendricks II** was the son of James Hendricks I and the father of James Hendricks III. Little is known about him, though according to an article read by Chase he continued the legacy of his father's ice cream business before moving to Echo and dying young in the year 1913 as the result of a tarantula bite- the same means of death suffered by his father.

## Jim Hendricks

**Jim Hendricks** is Carl's father. He works for Hen's Ice Cream in an executive position of some sort and frequently travels with his wife for work. During Jenna's route she and Flynn talk to him on the phone regarding Carl's disappearance, to which he seems belligerent due to his worry. Jim is shown to be stern towards his son and harbors a dislike for Mormons and Sydney Bronson in particular.

## Trisha Hendricks

**Trisha Hendricks** is Carl's mother. She is the CEO of Hen's Ice Cream and a descendant of James Hendricks I. Trisha is also a history buff and has been working on a biography of James Hendricks I since the 1980s with plans of eventually making a museum of the town and family history, though after finding out certain revelations as a result of her research and seemingly experiencing some odd happenings herself she abandoned the project.

## Hess Family

The **Hess family** is composed of TJ and his parents, whose names are unknown. The Hesses are from Wasatchua, a town in "The Great White North", and moved to Echo after Mr. Hess got a job surveying wildlife in the region. After TJ left for college, his parents moved back to their home country. The family is devoutly Christian and attend church regularly, though their denomination is very tolerant and accepting of others regardless of sexuality.

**TJ's mother** is seen in the short story "Date," where she accompanies TJ and Heather on a date to the movies before driving them back to their house. She later checks on TJ after Heather leaves and encourages him to come watch TV with her and his father. She also appears offscreen in Route 65 if Chase chooses to come out to TJ, where she talks to Chase through text via TJ's phone and offers him and Carl a ride to the Day of the Dead party she is dropping TJ off at. Regardless of who Chase comes out to, she drops TJ off at the party believing it to be a lighthearted get-together for all ages and presumably picks him up after the night turns sour.

Mrs. Hess seems to be a well-meaning and kind individual who loves her son and is exceedingly friendly to those around her, including his friends. That being said, she is also somewhat oblivious and can inadvertently cause awkward situations such as creating a ghost costume for TJ to wear to a Dia de Los Muertos celebration, sending TJ to the party without knowing the actual circumstances of the get-together, reading her son's texts and responding to the people he is messaging, and uncomfortably chaperoning TJ on his first date by attending the movie as well.

**TJ's father** appears less prominently than his spouse, though his job was the catalyst for the family moving to Echo in the first place. He appears to have some sort of job relating to analysis of the environment or wildlife. Mr. Hess is an avid hockey fan, and in his singular appearance during the events of "Date" he is distracted watching the game. From what others say about him, it can be assumed that Mr. Hess' personality and beliefs are similar to those of his wife. According to one of Echo's authors Mr. Hess may be a horse, making the Hess family one of the few known mixed-species couples.

## Hunter Family

The **Hunter family** is composed of Chase and his parents. They are all river otters, making them susceptible to the desert heat. This lead the family to frequently take trips to pools or other bodies of water in the region, both as an instinctual need and to cool off. Chase's parents are accepting of their son's same-sex attraction and approved of his relationship with Leo, though the circumstances around Chase coming out initially lead to a brief period of shock before they offered their validation. According to Micha, Mrs. Hunter was addicted to oxycodone and solicited sexual favors for it, though the veracity of this information is unknown. At some point after Chase left for college the Hunters moved away from Echo, leaving their house abandoned. Mrs. Hunter calls Chase at the beginning of Echo to check in, expressing some worry about him being on his own with his friends for a week and encouraging him to call if anything goes awry.

According to one of Echo's authors, the Hunter family has lived in Echo since at least 1915, though any other ancestors of Chase and his family are unknown.

## Injy

**Injy** is a red panda who lives in Sydney Bronson's old house. He appears in TJ's route when the group finds the next clue in Sydney's old bedroom.

## Jenna's Grandma

**Jenna's Grandma** was the mother of one of her parents and the only member of her family whom she was close with. She was born with a partially deformed scalp and ears, making her very shy and causing her to wear large sunhats frequently. Despite this, she later married a man and had at least one child, though her husband passed away before the birth of their grandchildren. She had a firm belief in many spiritual aspects of the Meseta culture, and Jenna describes her as a very down to earth person.

After her husband's passing, Jenna's grandma developed an interest in the radio, and acquired a HAM radio that allowed her to tune in and talk on various stations. and Jenna would frequently come visit her. Though she never left the reservation, Jenna's Grandma soon became very social by chatting with truckers driving along Route 65. She eventually became known as the "Sweetheart of Echo Valley" due to her kindness toward travelers, even inviting a trucker who had recently lost his wife to her home to teach him how to cook and provide him with a meal. Jenna visited her many times throughout her childhood, and the two had a strong relationship.

Eventually, Jenna's grandma became sick and passed away at some point after. Her funeral was held in Payton, with Jenna, Adam, and a large assortment of truckers and people she had befriended via the radio in attendance. It is thought that the voice on the baby monitor that Chase speaks to while driving to the dam near the end of Jenna's route is her grandmother.

## Karen

**Karen** is a desert fox. She used to work as a bus driver and would drive Chase and the others to and from school, as seen in Route 65. During the Hysteria in Flynn's route, her house is broken into. She is Keith's mother and disowned him for being gay.

## Keith

**Keith** was a fox and close friend of Jeremy, Heather, and Micha. He grew up in Coalville with his mother Karen, but was disowned by her for being gay sometime prior to the events of Echo. He was last seen helping Brian cope with life problems before disappearing without a trace. Both Flynn's and Jenna's route confirms that Brian did indeed murder Keith, removing one of his eyes in the process.

## Lana

**Lana** is a friend of Chase's from college. The two worked on a project together and later hung out during the short story "Party," where she encouraged Chase to try a weed edible. Her species is unknown, though she is described as wearing a revealing red dress during the events of the party.

## Sheriff Maulco

**Sheriff Maulco** is the presumed sheriff of Echo in 2015 and several years prior. Leo refers to her as "Sheriff Mallcop."

## Mark

**Mark** is a horned toad who works as the town clerk at Echo City Hall. He appears in Flynn's route and found Salem's body while attempting to leave Echo.

## Mike

**Mike** is a hefty, middle-aged Shire/Clydesdale horse with a bayou accent. He appears at The Smoke Room in Flynn's route, bonding with Daxton over a mutual interest in Adastra.

## Sven Miserly

**Sven Miserly** is a man of unknown species mentioned by Micha. According to rumor, he provided Chase's mother with drugs in exchange for sex, though the validity of this story is unknown.

## Brett Moore

**Brett Moore** is the father of Flynn and the brother of Mayor Moore. He is a gila monster who belongs to the Mormon faith, apparently subscribing heavily to religious principles. When the Moores found out Flynn was gay during his teen years, Brett and his wife rejected this and attempted to get him to conform into heterosexuality based on their religious principles, to which Flynn rebelled. Afterward, they left Flynn in the care of his aunt and uncle in an attempt to "toughen him up." Following this experience in conjunction of his knowledge and fear regarding the hysteria event of 1915, Brett and his wife left Echo.

## Rachel

**Rachel** was Duke's wife and a fellow weasel. She was murdered by Brian and buried in Danicka Mine at some point before the events of Echo. Chase recalls that she was always very nice to the children of Echo and tended to ride her bicycle most places. He also notes that she was much younger than her husband. It is possible that Rachel had a drug addiction of some kind or at least was aware enough of her husband's addiction to become involved, as her association to Brian arose through her husband owing him a debt as a dealer.

## Salem

**Salem** was a boar. He recently moved to Echo and squatted on vacant land in an RV until the landowner started making him pay to live there. Salem was associated with Brian and recorded him torturing one of his victims.

In Flynn's route, Salem was killed while attempting to leave Echo during the hysteria. Mark found his corpse outside his RV and brought it to the city hall. His body was later burned. Salem can also be seen attending the Day of the Dead party in Route 65, where he films Chase being assaulted.

## Genevieve Sanders

**Genevieve Sanders** is a retired mail carrier from Payton of unknown species who currently lives in Echo. She was present at the city hall in Flynn's route and later ended up shooting Mayor Moore during the Hysteria.

## Sarah

**Sarah** is a girl of unknown species who appears in the short story "Lights." She invites TJ to church dance in Payton, where the two spend time dancing with one another before TJ leaves the party. Sarah also mentions spending time with her friends, Jessica and Amber.

## Sean

**Sean** is an armadillo who appears in the short story "Metaphor" working alongside Flynn at his part-time job unloading trucks.

## Robert Smith

**Robert Smith** was a wolf and a freight hopper who was passing through Echo in 1952. Somehow, Robert was pulled underneath a train and had both of his legs cut off. He was found in a delirious state two hours later, with his bleeding stopped by mud packs. Robert claimed that the wounds were treated by some sort of creature, but could not elaborate. A few hours after being discovered and admitted to the Payton Regional Medical Center, Robert committed suicide by slipping out of a fifth-story window.

Clint's father told him Robert's story, as his own father was present during the incident. Clint would later tell the story to Chase in Leo's route.

## Vincent

**Vincent** is a friend of Chase's from college who became his roommate after Carl dropped out. He is a wolf and works as a barista. He seems to be close with Chase, given that there are several pictures of them hanging out together posted on social media; Leo expresses jealously towards this.

Vincent appears in person in the short story "Party," having invited Chase to the titular college party. Vincent offers his guests, including Chase, weed edibles before taking Chase back to his dorm after the otter passes out.