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Former U.S. champion swimmer Jamie Cail is reported to have died from a fentanyl overdose, the Virgin Islands Police Department announced Saturday (August 26), citing a recent autopsy report from the U.S. Virgin Islands Office of Medical Examiner via NBC News.
Cail, 42, was reported to have died of "fentanyl intoxication with aspiration of gastric content," the report, which was published on August 22, stated. The retired swimmer was pronounced dead on arrival at the Myrah KLeating-Smith Clinic on St. John in February, according to a U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department news release at the time of her death.
Cail, who won several titles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, was reportedly found unresponsive by her boyfriend, whose name was not shared publicly, on the floor of a residence they shared shortly after 12:00 p.m. on February 21, the department said. Police said the boyfriend "left a local bar to check on his girlfriend" at home and "upon his arrival, he discovered his girlfriend on the floor."
The department said he was "able to get the female to a nearby vehicle" with assistance from a friend and transported Cail to a local hospital, where staff administered CPR before she "succumbed to her ailment." Cail's identity was confirmed to police by the boyfriend, according to the news release.
The U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department's Criminal Investigation Bureau launched an investigation into the former swimmer's death. Cail competed in freestyle and butterfly races, as well as medleys while competing for the U.S. at the Pan Pacific Championships and the FINA Swimming World Cup in 1998 and 1999, earning a gold medal and silver medal, according to FINA, which is now known as World Aquatics.