Death of star N.H. swimmer under investigation in U.S. Virgin Islands

Police are investigating the death of a star swimmer from New Hampshire on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Jamie Cail, 42, was found unresponsive in the early morning hours of Feb. 21. Cail’s boyfriend, whose identity has not been released, left a local bar at about 12:08 a.m. to check on Cail at their residence, according to a statement from the U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department.

When he arrived, he discovered Cail on the floor, police said. The man and a friend were able to move Cail into a nearby vehicle, and they then 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 the statement. 

Detectives were notified of a “dead on arrival” case at the clinic at about 2:39 a.m., police said.  The department’s Criminal Investigation Bureau is investigating Cail’s death further. 

Cail was born in Claremont, N.H., WMUR reported. Her family told the station that she spent her younger years competing in swimming competitions across the country. 

“She was just… a very beautiful person,” A friend told WMUR. “She had a huge heart. She was really loving and kind and well-loved and popular on the island and everybody knows her.”

As a teenager in 1997, Cail competed on the U.S. team at the Pan Pacific Championships. She won a gold medal as part of a relay race there, according to swimming news website Swim Swam. She also won a silver medal at the 1998-1999 World Aquatics (formerly FINA) Swimming World Cup in Brazil. 

Cail attended the Bolles School, a college preparatory school in Jacksonville, Fla. known for its swimming program. Multiple school records set by Cail during her time at Bolles still stand, according to Swim Swam.

She moved to Huntington Beach, Calif. to train with the Golden West Swim Club. There, Cail won high school state championships in multiple events, according to Swim Swam. 

In 1998, Cail signed a letter of intent to swim with the University of Southern California, according to the school. 

Cail was a part of the University of Maine’s swim team during the 2000-2001 season, according to the university’s Alumni Association. 

Cail was well-liked and had a knack for making friends with people of all ages. 

“Everyone from the you know, older generational, local families to the younger people, everybody loved her,” her friend told WMUR.

Jooyoung Lee, a sociologist at the University of Toronto, said in a Twitter post that he was teammates with Cail in high school.

“She left everything in each practice and became a world class distance swimmer through grit. Rest in peace to a real one,” Lee wrote. 

Jessica DeVries, who identified herself on Facebook as Cail’s cousin, wrote in a comment that she is still struggling to process the tragic news. 

“It is really inconceivable…I haven’t been able to wrap my mind around the reality of it yet,” she wrote