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LEHI — Police in Lehi are investigating the mysterious death of a 4-year-old girl. With few answers, they're treating it as suspicious.
A 911 call came in around 8:40 a.m. Wednesday from Brooklyn Lubke's mother, who reported that the girl was unconscious and not breathing. By the time officers arrived at the duplex near 900 North and 600 East, the girl was dead, Lehi Police Lt. Darren Paul said.
“We do understand that she was sick prior to this incident. However, I don’t know the severity of her sickness or the type of medical care that she had received,” Paul said.
Brooklyn was like a daughter to neighbor Tina Street. She often babysat the young girl and her 7-year-old sister. Street said Brooklyn had recently recovered from a head cold, which seemed to have reappeared.
"Last night I noticed that she seemed to have a difficult time breathing," she said.
The girl's grandmother, Teri Wiles, said Brooklyn died in her sleep. "It wasn't anything to be concerned with. I listened to her chest and there was no wheezing or anything,” she said. “It just surprised us."
Police are investigating the girl's death because there is no obvious cause. “It’s just unexplained, to have a 4-year-old with no terminal or no chronic illness to pass away like that,” the lieutenant said.
Family and friends say it was just a tragedy, a little girl's life cut short by an illness that didn't appear to be so serious.
“I think it’s just an unfortunate thing,” Street said, “and she just got sick and didn’t get better, and nobody could have known this was going to happen.”
Police are working with the medical examiner and Utah County Attorney's Office to determine the cause of death.
Email: syi@ksl.com
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