A 36-year-old American tourist died Friday afternoon in Jost Van Dyke’s Bubbly Pool, an incident police are investigating as an “apparent drowning,” officials said.
Elissa Bradley, a New Yorker who resided in Paris, France, was visiting the Virgin Islands with friends at the time of her death, according to Sergeant Carl Mason, the police’s acting information officer.
Ms. Bradley was swimming in Bubbly Pool at the time of the incident, Mr. Mason said. The pool is connected to the ocean by a rocky channel where a strong current is created during times of heavy swell.
Mr. Mason said bystanders responded after Ms. Bradley encountered difficulty in the water. Virgin Islands Search and Rescue volunteers also responded, but by about 3:40 p.m. when police arrived on the scene, Ms. Bradley had died, Mr. Mason said. Her body was transported to the Jost Van Dyke clinic, he added.
Ms. Bradley was the sixth visitor since December to die in a water-related incident.
Isabel Mary Bannister, a 67-year-old passenger aboard the M/V Clipper, was snorkeling on the afternoon of Feb. 21 when she encountered breathing difficulties, Police Information Officer Diane Drayton said last week. An autopsy performed on Ms. Bannister’s body revealed that she died of natural causes, Ms. Drayton said.
See the March 15, 2012 edition for full coverage.
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