Mila de Mier
Battling alphabet government agencies can certainly be hazardous to your health, as Mila de Mier of Key West, Fl., found out. Just hours before she was to submit a petition of 200,000 names to the EPA demanding that they deny a permit for the release of genetically engineered mosquitoes in Florida and Texas she was found dead in a hotel swimming pool.
The death, which officials are declaring an “accidental” drowning, is highly suspicious as the temperature on the day of her death was in the mid-50s…weather hardly warm enough to swim in. Authorities were quick to call the death an unfortunate accident and determined there was no need for further investigation. However, this statement has been retracted and a death investigation is now underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the drowning.
Instead of pulling de Mier from the water and performing potential life-saving CPR, the witness who found her facedown in the pool called 911 and waited for first responders. De Mier was pronounced dead on the scene.
Add to the odd fact that it would have been unlikely that Mier would have gone swimming with temperatures the way they were, she was a good swimmer, according to one friend.
Activist Post spoke with Barbara Napoles, a fellow activist and long-term friend of de Mier who accompanied her on the trip to Washington D.C., and one of the last people to see her alive. Napoles worked with de Mier for years as part of the Never Again Foundation, an organization that focused on a variety of environmental causes. Napoles explained that she and de Mier had worked on the GE mosquito issue for years and had previously made trips to the Food and Drug Administration in an attempt to express their concerns.
According to Napoles, de Mier called her on Thursday April 5 to announce her intention to drive from Florida to Washington D.C. to file her petition with the EPA. The two headed to Washington on Sunday, arrived on Monday, and planned to deliver their petition on Tuesday morning. Around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday morning de Mier left Napoles to go for a quick swim at the hotel’s rooftop pool before heading to the EPA. This was the last time Napoles saw de Mier alive. Regarding the possibility of death by accidental drowning, Napoles said Mila de Mier was not known to be a weak swimmer and had swum with whale sharks in the past. Napoles said the two also had plans to go swim with dolphins in June.
Sources: Newstarget, March Against Monsanto
