Former Miss Teen Universe Dead at Age 20 After Suffering Heart Attack
In 2017, Lotte van der Zee claimed the coveted title of Miss Teen Universe. Now, just over a week after her 20th birthday, the former beauty queen has suddenly passed away.
According to a post shared on Lotte’s Instagram by her parents — Bert van der Zee and Eugeniek van het Hul — the family was on holiday in Westendorf, Austria, during the last week of February when their beloved daughter became ill.
“Lotte started to feel unwell throughout the course of the afternoon,” they wrote. “A feeling that swiftly escalated in sudden cardiac arrest.”
The post went on to say the former Miss Teen Universe was taken to a hospital where she was placed in a coma and supervised closely.
A heartbreaking update was shared at the beginning of March. Lotte’s parents expressed their gratitude to all for their encouragement during the trying time.
“We want to thank you for all the beautiful messages and for your sincere and loving support,” they said. “It is wonderful to see how many people are intensely involved with Lotte and with us.”
The post went on to explain that their daughter had been transferred to an academic hospital in Munich, Germany, where she continued under a medically induced coma and constant supervision.
According to The Sun, her parents told a Dutch newspaper that Lotte had spent some time out with her friends the evening preluding her heart attack.
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Her parents told the newspaper their daughter had come back “cheerfully and without health complaints.” It wasn’t until the next day that things started to spiral.
After skipping breakfast, her parents checked on her and discovered she was still in bed, not feeling well. Later on, a heart attack ensued.
Tragically on March 7, they announced the young woman had passed.
“It is incredibly surreal that our dearly beloved Lotte is not around us anymore,” they wrote. “Our hearts are truly broken.”
“We would like to thank you all again for all the support and heartwarming messages.”
Such a beautiful girl with so much life left to live. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this time.
It remains a mystery what caused Lotte’s heart attack in the first place; tests will hopefully determine the cause soon.
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