A former swimming champion died suddenly after being found unresponsive at her home in U.S. Virgin Islands, and police have launched a criminal investigation.
Jamie Cail, 42, was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital in St. John last week.
The former competitive swimmer who won many titles in the late 1990s lived and worked at a local coffee shop on St. John.
Cail’s boyfriend found her unresponsive on the floor of their shared residence on Tuesday, Feb. 21, according to U.S. Virgin Islands police, TMZ reported.
The boyfriend, who has not been named, “left a local bar to check on his girlfriend” at home.
“Upon his arrival, he discovered his girlfriend on the floor,” police said. “With assistance from a friend, the male was able to get the female to a nearby vehicle and transported the female” to a local hospital.
Staff administered CPR to Cail, but she “succumbed to her ailment,” police said.
Cail’s identity was confirmed by her boyfriend, police said.
However, the case is now under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau, and police are asking anyone with information related to the case to contact the Criminal Investigation Bureau directly.
Cail began to swim professionally during childhood, her family told WMUR.
“She was just a very beautiful person,” a friend told the outlet. “She had a huge heart. She was really loving and kind and well-loved and popular on the island and everybody knows her.”
Jooyoung Lee, a sociologist at the University of Toronto, wrote on Twitter that he was teammates with Cail in high school.
“Jamie had an unmatched work ethic. She left everything in each practice and became a world-class distance swimmer through grit. Rest in peace to a real one,” Lee wrote.
The former swimming champion joins a long list of athletes who have died suddenly over the past year.
READ MORE: Flight Instructor, 57, Dies Suddenly of Heart Attack Mid-Flight
