BASEBALL fans were left devastated after women’s player Oz Sailor was announced dead at the age of 31.
However, less than two weeks later, it was revealed that she was still alive.
The San Francisco Chronicle published an obituary of the pitcher and high school coach after Sailor’s death was announced by the nonprofit organization Baseball for All.
It was stated that she had died of a “brain illness” and was surrounded by family.
The nonprofit also shared a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral expenses.
However, the San Francisco Chronicle later learned that Sailors was actually alive and living in Easton, Maine.
Read more at The US Sun
The Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office performed a welfare check on her after news of her death broke.
The sailors’ brother, Hajir, then received an email address with the name “Baseball Kid”.
The email was signed by Oz and asked them to disclose that she had not died.
“Please publish that I am alive and they announced my death early and please make me the biggest fraud case ever,” the email said.
“All I wanted was for you guys to leave me alone and you guys can’t even do that.”
Sailors is known as a barrier breaker in baseball and was immediately considered the only female varsity coach in the country.
At one point, she was also the only woman playing in men’s baseball leagues.
The sailors made the U.S. women’s national team at age 17, before heading off to college.
She played professionally in Canada, Australia, Japan and Korea.
Although the San Francisco Chronical reported that Sailors died from a brain disease, she reportedly told people for more than a year that she had “brainstem degeneration.”
Commander Forrest Dudley met face to face with the sailors after the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office completed the welfare check.
The San Francisco Chronical asked Dudley why Sailors was reported to have died.
“I’m not going to get into that,” Dudley told the publication.
“We talked about it. Her indication is that she just wants to be alone.”
Dudley also commented on the GoFundMe, saying it could be taken down if anyone complained, but no one has objected yet.
“If someone made a complaint, it would be something we would look into. At the moment, there are no complaints,” they said.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story