Abbey Trinca was 17 when she moved to the US from her Melbourne home. She lived in Florida, where she studied at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She had a sports scholarship, and she wanted to play golf professionally.
This year was her final year in college and she was looking forward to returning to Australia at the end of 2017. But, on February 26, she went to bed as normal in her Daytona Beach apartment and never woke up.
Her flatmates raised the alarm the following morning, when Trinca did not rise as usual.
“To our knowledge it was a natural death. She passed in her sleep. There appears to be no foul play,” her sister Lisa Trinca told Nine.com.au. “She was fit, she was healthy, she was by no means ill.”
“As a student athlete she was seen regularly by the physicians,” she continued. “They knew about every drug that she was taking. We are still waiting for results from the autopsy and for that final piece of the puzzle.”
Lisa and the rest of Abbey’s family flew to the US as soon as they heard the news. It was a trip they were planning to take in December, for Abbey’s graduation.
“Abbey was a sweet, loving, and inspirational natural-leader,” a statement from the family said. “She was passionate about her golf, and her team and friends. We were preparing to fly out to see her graduate this coming December, and unfortunately we flew out to see her for very difficult circumstances. We will forever miss her.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help bring Abbey’s body home. The family – Pauline, Shane, Lisa and Hayley – want to bring her back to Melbourne for the funeral.
Last night, more than $28,000 had been raised and the family is “blown away with gratitude”.
