SAN PEDRO, Ambergris Caye, Mon. Apr. 29, 2019– Lora Brook Peterson, 68, an American tourist from Wisconsin, United States, who was vacationing in San Pedro along with her family, reportedly died of natural causes in San Pedro while snorkeling along with her family at about 10:00 yesterday morning.
Peterson was along with family members while snorkeling in the Mexico Rocks Marine Reserve located in Northern San Pedro, when she began to suffer difficulties and went into cardiac arrest. The tour guide who was along with her group came to her aid and conducted cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), after which a medical emergency team was called and she was rushed to a clinic on Pescador Drive in San Pedro, but she was declared dead on arrival.
Police said that when they went to the clinic, Peterson was already dead. Police said that no foul play is suspected. The San Pedro Sun said that Dr. Gonzalez, the physician who attended to Peterson at the clinic, believes that she underwent cardiac arrest and that they did everything they could to bring Peterson back from unconsciousness, but she never recovered.
Dr. Gonzalez said that Peterson’s relatives indicated that she did not show any signs of illness prior to the snorkeling trip, but she suddenly started panicking and then became unconscious during the swim.
Rickylee Response and Rescue Team (RRR) and the tour operator who had been in charge of her group’s trip, assisted the Wisconsin family in transporting Peterson’s body to Belize City.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted to certify the cause of Peterson’s death.