Sudden death of former US swim champ Jamie Cail under investigation
A former swimming champion from New Hampshire has been found dead in the US Virgin Islands, where she lived with her boyfriend — and police have launched a criminal investigation.
Jamie Cail, 42, was found unresponsive early Feb. 21 in St John, New Hampshire’s WMUR reported, citing USVI police.
Her boyfriend, who has not been identified, left a bar about midnight to check on her at their home, where he found her on the floor.
He and a friend carried Cail to a vehicle and drove her to the Myrah Keating-Smith Community Health Center.
“Once at the clinic, CPR was rendered and 911 was notified, however, the female succumbed to her ailment,” police said in a statement cited by Boston.com.
The police said the Criminal Investigation Bureau is investigating Cail’s death after authorities were notified of a “dead on arrival” about 2:40 a.m.
Cail, a native of Claremont, New Hampshire, was a star swimmer who competed across the US in her youth, her family told WMUR. She reportedly worked at a coffee shop in St. John.
“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.”
In 1997, she competed for the US at the Pan Pacific Championships and won a gold medal in a relay race, according to swimming news website Swim Swam.
She also won a silver medal at the 1998-1999 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Brazil, Boston.com reported.
Cail attended the college prep Bolles School — which is known for its swimming program — in Jacksonville, Florida, and several of her school records there still stand, according to Swim Swam.
She won several high school state championships in Huntington Beach, California, where she moved to train with the Golden West Swim Club, Boston.com reported, citing the swimming site.
In 1998, Cail reportedly signed a letter of intent to swim at the University of Southern California and was a member of the University of Maine’s swim team during the 2000-2001 season.
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.
