A troubled teen found dead at a rehab facility last year may have died from "the choking game," rather than suicide, according to a coroner's report.

Nick Lang may have died accidentally while taking part in the "game," which some youth believe is a way to get high without taking drugs, coroner Adele Lambert wrote.

Lambert issued a report Thursday saying that she was unable to determine whether the teen who died in government care had died on purpose.

The report was issued nearly a year after the 15-year-old's body was found hanging in a closet, in a rehab facility where he was being treated for addiction.

Lambert's report said that Lang had told a family member that he was anxious and made threats of suicide less than a week before his death. However, the family member said that "it appeared that Nick was adjusting better and was making plans for the future," Lambert wrote.

On the day of his death, the teen was "cheerful and smiling a lot." He had picked out a pet and downloaded new songs to his iPod, the report said. When Lang's body was found, his iPod was located nearby and was still playing music.

The report said that the coroner could not rule out that the death may have been related to "the choking game," which involves intentionally cutting off oxygen to the brain.

"The goal is not to intentionally cause death, although brain damage and death are inherent risks of this activity," Lambert wrote.

The report said that a family member reported that shoelaces had gone missing in their home, and that Lang had admitted to taking them. He could not provide a reasonable explanation for what he was using them for, the relative said.

"The family member suspected that Nick had been engaging in the choking game, but Nick had never discussed it with them."

The coroner wrote that there was evidence that Lang had been experiencing stress, and had made a recent threat of suicide, but also that he may have been trying to induce euphoria through the choking game.

"As a result of equally compelling theories, it cannot be determined on a balance of probabilities whether Nick intended to die," Lambert wrote.

She ended the report with a recommendation that province review the government services provided to Lang, looking for ways to improve services and outcomes for other children and teens.

Earlier this year, Lang's parents filed a lawsuit claiming that his probation officer didn't warn his caregivers that the teen was at risk of suicide. 

They claim the probation officer didn't pay enough attention to the teen's case. He died just six days after entering a rehab facility.