A 66-year-old woman was found dead in a New Jersey hot tub, prompting an investigation by local police.
The Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office told the Daily News on Wednesday the victim was discovered unresponsive in a residential hot tub in Montague at approximately 6 a.m. Tuesday.
“The decedent was last seen alive the previous evening,” officials said.
Prosecutors told NJ.com that the unidentified victim appeared to have drowned in the hot tub at the single-family home on the 100 block of River Road. While there were no immediate signs of foul play, an investigation is still ongoing.
An autopsy is expected to reveal the woman’s cause of death.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has long warned that hot tubs heated above normal body temperatures can cause drowsiness leading to unconsciousness and drowning.
The International Institutes of Health warns that “consumption of alcohol during sauna bathing increases the risk of low blood pressure, fainting, arrhythmia and sudden death, particularly in individuals with underlying coronary heart disease.”
It’s unclear if any of those factors played a part in the overnight death of the woman discovered on Tuesday.
