According to the Niagara County Sheriff's office, emergency crews received a call on Saturday reporting an incident at Lake Ontario in the town of Wilson, north of New York State. The police said they attempted to resuscitate a 32-year-old woman later identified as Ria Vannoort, who was then transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The police said the "initial investigation" conducted at the scene revealed that Vannoort, who was attending a party at her residence, was operating a personal watercraft away from the shore where attendees at the party noticed she had gotten off the watercraft and was floating in the lake before being carried onto a second vessel and brought back to shore.

Vannoort's partner, Kyle, told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday that they were at the cabin with friends and family, who had not seen each other since before the pandemic, when the incident occurred. It is believed she suffered some kind of medical incident while riding the jet ski.

Ria Vannoort worked in Hamilton as a paramedic and loved helping people, and her young daughter was her whole world, according to those close to her.

Vannoort, the victim's husband, said the family launched a GoFundMe page to help cover expenses since the death occurred in the United States, adding that any additional funds would go into an account in their daughter's name.