9-Year-Old Girl Pronounced Dead in Suspected Drowning Incident in St. Thomas

ST. THOMAS — The V.I. Police Department has reported what it described as "a suspicious death" of a 9-year-old girl in St. Thomas, who was pronounced dead early Saturday morning in the area of Vitraco Mall.

The VIPD said officers arrived at the scene at 5:22 a.m. after receiving a call. Despite CPR efforts from emergency medical technicians, the child was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police Commissioner Ray Martinez told the Consortium Saturday night that though an autopsy will provide the official cause of death, the department has declared the incident "a suspicious death" by suspected drowning. "This was a suspicious death that the VIPD is investigating as what appeared to be drowning," the commissioner said. "We cannot outright declare it a drowning yet because only the autopsy can confirm it."

Part of the mystery of the case is that while investigators believe the child may have drowned in waters somewhere on the St. Thomas waterfront, she was found in the area of the Vitraco Mall. Once on the scene, emergency medical technicians performed CPR; however, they found no vital signs.