A Southwest Airlines employee died late last week during a layover in Hawaii, the airline confirmed Monday.
The Honolulu Police Department is investigating the incident as an unattended death, but hasn’t released any more information about the case. Noreen Reimel, a Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman, said the information wasn’t publicly releasable.
The Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner identified the person as Jenny Lupton, 50, of Cleveland, Oklahoma. The office said her cause and manner of death are pending.
The medical examiner’s office said the case was scheduled for examination Monday and that final determinations could take days or months depending on the complexity of the case and whether additional testing is needed.
Southwest Airlines in a statement confirmed Monday that the employee died during a layover in Hawaii. Company officials didn’t immediately identify the employee or provide additional details when asked by The Dallas Morning News.
“We have offered our condolences and support to the employee’s family and co-workers and are engaged with local authorities as they investigate,” the airline said in a statement.
Lupton worked as a Southwest Airlines flight attendant for 29 years, according to her family, who spoke with Oklahoma station News 9.
Her family told News 9 that Lupton was in Hawaii for work and that they were told she fell from the balcony of her 24th-floor hotel room in Honolulu. They said they want a thorough investigation into the circumstances of her death.
The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office said it is in contact with Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez’s office to help make sure a proper investigation is done into Lupton’s death.
“We are also in contact with the Lupton family who deserve to have answers about this tragedy,” Leslie Berger, a spokesperson for Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, said in a statement to The News.
The family described Lupton as someone who loved traveling, her family and her work as a flight attendant.
