Rising polo star’s NZ sojourn ends in tragedy
Rising American polo star Lauren Biddle had been in the country only 10 days when she died on a Christchurch street.
Lauren Mikaila Biddle, a
22-year-old who was working in New Zealand, died in the seaside suburb of Clifton, near Sumner, about 1am on Monday. Her death remains unexplained.
Emergency services were called by a friend, who was trying to resuscitate Biddle on nearby Clifton Tce.
Tommy Biddle said his daughter, who was a member of the United States Polo Association, recently played several polo tournaments in Australia before visiting New Zealand for the second time, with plans to work in Canterbury until March.
He said his daughter, who has a 29-year-old stepbrother and a
13-year-old sister, was a ‘‘shining light to me’’.
‘‘She was definitely daddy’s girl and I am truly heartbroken,’’ he said.
‘‘[We] are taking it very hard, but we have a strong family and will persevere.’’
It was unclear what caused his daughter’s death but he did not believe she did drugs.
‘‘As a father I may be a bit naive but Lauren was not into drugs as far as we know.
‘‘She did drink but didn’t have any interest in drugs.’’
Polo was a way of life for the Biddle family. Lauren Biddle represented the third generation of the family to play the sport at a high level. Biddle’s parents met through polo, and her mother, Yvette, taught her to ride.
Lauren Biddle travelled the world with polo, playing in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, China and the US.
‘‘She touched a lot of people in her short time here. She did more in her 22 years than a lot of people have or will do in a full life,’’ Tommy Biddle said.
The family was now focused on bringing her back home, he said.
Biddle was believed to have visited a five-bedroom home in Spinnaker Lane earlier on Sunday.
Detective Senior Sergeant
Greg Cottam said yesterday police continued to build a picture of what had happened and had spoken to all the people who were at the address when Biddle died. ‘‘The police inquiry team working on this are aware of the family in America wanting answers. As parents themselves they’re working hard to seek answers to give closure to the family.’’
An autopsy was completed on Tuesday. A preliminary cause of death had been identified and was with the coroner.
He declined to comment on whether drugs were involved in Biddle’s death but said toxicology results would form part of the autopsy.
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 yesterday. Police were not looking for anyone in relation to Biddle’s death, he said.