A young woman whose death in a Christchurch street remains unexplained was being resuscitated by a friend when emergency services arrived.
Twenty-two-year-old Lauren Mikaila Biddle, an American citizen who was working in New Zealand, died in the seaside suburb of Clifton, near Sumner, just before 1am on Monday.
Biddle was believed to have visited a five-bedroom home on Spinnaker Lane earlier in the day.
Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Cottam said emergency services were called by a friend, who was performing CPR on Biddle on nearby Clifton Tce when they arrived.
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An autopsy was completed on Tuesday, Cottam said. A preliminary cause of death had been identified and was with the coroner.
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“We have been in contact with Lauren’s US-based family and have been working with the US Embassy to offer them the support they need,” Cottam said.
Kenzie Moore wrote on Facebook that her sister-in-law was “young, beautiful, courageous and so full of life”.
Biddle always lived in the present and had a passion for polo and everything horse-related.
“She loved to travel and experience life head on and to the fullest – I admired that the most.”
The United States Polo Association said the 22-year-old was a promising young player who would be remembered as a “passionate horsewoman, animal lover, adventurer and friend who lived life to the fullest”.
“Her fun-loving spirit had left its impact on many, and her legacy will live on through those that play the sport that she loved so much,” the association said in a Facebook post.
On Tuesday, the Spinnaker Lane house was guarded by a police car and emergency tape. A police tent has been erected at the end of the driveway, and forensic staff were examining the house.
Cottam said the examination was expected to be completed on Wednesday.
He declined to comment on whether drugs were involved in Biddle’s death, but said toxicology results would form part of the autopsy.
Police were not looking for anyone in relation to Biddle’s death, he said.
Stuff