{"id":69027,"date":"2019-11-08T19:52:15","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T19:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/11\/08\/autopsy-reports-reveal-why-two-recruits-died-at-boot-camp\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:56:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:56:04","slug":"autopsy-reports-reveal-why-two-recruits-died-at-boot-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2019\/11\/08\/autopsy-reports-reveal-why-two-recruits-died-at-boot-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Autopsy reports reveal why two recruits died at boot camp"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two recruits learned that they had a rare blood disorder after they got to boot camp. It played a role in at least one of their deaths, according to autopsy reports obtained by Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/03\/04\/navy-recruit-dies-at-great-lakes\/\">Seaman Recruit Kierra Evans<\/a>, 20, collapsed while running during a Feb. 22 physical fitness assessment at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bootcamp.navy.mil\/\" target=_blank>Recruit Training Command<\/a> in Great Lakes, Illinois . She was taken to Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital and resuscitated but died later that night while in intensive care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two months later, 18-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/04\/25\/navy-recruit-dies-at-boot-camp\/\" target=_blank>Seaman Recruit Kelsey Nobles<\/a>, of Mobile, Alabama, collapsed while running her final physical test on a track in a Great Lakes gymnasium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to her autopsy, she was wearing a belt with red flags attached to it that signify that she had sickle cell trait.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/03\/04\/navy-recruit-dies-at-great-lakes\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Recruit30.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Navy recruit dies at Great Lakes<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Officials are probing her death.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lakecountyil.gov\/450\/Coroners-Office\" target=_blank>Lake County Coroner<\/a> ruled Evans died due to exertional rhabdomyolysis, or the breakdown of muscle brought on by extreme exertion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sickle cell trait was noted as a contributing factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same coroner\u2019s office said Nobles\u2019 death resulted from an irregular heartbeat caused by an inflamed heart. The report noted the presence of \u201cfew \u2018sickle\u2019 shaped blood cells,\u201d as well as her history with sickle cell trait, but did not name it a significant contributor in her death nor did it indicate evidence of a crisis related to the disorder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both women were only days away from graduating from boot camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sickle cell trait affects as many as three million Americans, perhaps up to 10 percent of African Americans, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hematology.org\/Patients\/Anemia\/Sickle-Cell-Trait.aspx\" target=_blank>American Society of Hematology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s not the same as sickle cell disease, which is caused by two inherited genes that lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhlbi.nih.gov\/health-topics\/sickle-cell-disease\" target=_blank>abnormal protein in the red blood cells<\/a> that harden and form sickle shapes that can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ncbddd\/sicklecell\/facts.html\" target=_blank>clog blood flow<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Someone with sickle cell trait carries one abnormal gene. A person might never experience problems, although complications \u2014 including sudden death following extreme exertion or in cases of dehydration \u2014 are possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/10\/17\/following-pt-related-deaths-air-force-begins-asking-about-sickle-cell-in-fitness-screening\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Running-Travis-AFB.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Following PT-related deaths, Air Force begins asking about sickle cell in fitness screening<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The changes come after three airmen died following PT assessments, some of which were linked to the sickle cell trait.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcfarlandfuneralco.com\/notices\/Kierra-Evans\" target=_blank>Kierra Evans<\/a> enlisted in the Navy on Jan. 2. She didn\u2019t know she had sickle cell trait until a boot camp blood test revealed it, her mother, Kenya Evans, told Navy Times during a telephone interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kierra told her mom about the diagnosis about a week later in a letter home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI didn\u2019t have a clue about it,\u201d Kenya Evans said. \u201cI learned about it when she learned about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When recruits arrive at Great Lakes, they go to USS Red Rover, a branch clinic at the Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center. There, they\u2019re screened for medical conditions including hepatitis B and C, HIV, tuberculosis and sickle cell, according to Center spokesperson Jayna M. Legg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evans said her daughter spent four years in the Junior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps program at Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana, and joined the Navy to become a nurse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She questions how much information the Navy provided to her daughter about sickle cell trait before her collapse. The Navy could have sent her home, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you were going to keep her, you have to make the necessary accommodations for a sickle cell patient,&#8221; the mother said. \u201cThey know that they\u2019re not supposed to overexert her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Harold Nobles said his daughter also didn\u2019t find out about having sickle cell trait until after she went to boot camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nobles said his daughter had been running up to three miles daily before enlisting March 6. She saw the sea service as a path to reach her beloved Auburn University. She loved the Tigers\u2019 football team and planned to become a pediatrician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now her father struggles daily wondering if the daughter he nicknamed \u201cTofu\u201d \u2014 because of her devotion to perfection and being fancy \u2014 suffered in her final moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/04\/25\/navy-recruit-dies-at-boot-camp\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/great-lakes-recruits.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Navy recruit dies at boot camp<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The 18-year-old collapsed during her physical fitness assessment and is at least the second recruit to die at Great Lakes this year<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the deaths of Evans and Nobles, the Navy issued a May 19 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.public.navy.mil\/bupers-npc\/reference\/messages\/Documents\/NAVADMINS\/NAV2019\/NAV19108.txt\" target=_blank>administrative message<\/a> cautioning about the risks of exercise-related deaths. It directed changes in rolling out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.public.navy.mil\/bupers-npc\/support\/21st_century_sailor\/physical\/Pages\/default2.aspx\" target=_blank>physical readiness test<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.public.navy.mil\/bupers-npc\/support\/21st_Century_Sailor\/physical\/Documents\/Pre-Physical%20Activity%20Questions%20(May%202019).pdf\" target=_blank>pre-physical activity checklist<\/a> released the same month directs those with sickle cell trait be cleared by a medical provider before participating in exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because of the administrative message, boot camp officials added more safety observers for high risk training, placed more oxygen bottles in physical fitness areas and educated staff and recruits on recognizing and responding to signs and symptoms of sickle cell trait, sudden cardiac arrest and heat stroke, according to Lt. Cmdr. Frederick Martin, a Recruit Training Command spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Martin said the Navy is continuing to investigate the deaths of Evans and Nobles. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service declined to release their probes into the deaths, saying that each is ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lisa Nobles didn\u2019t want to discuss her daughter\u2019s health when reached by phone by the Navy Times but indicated her disappointment in how the Navy and NCIS handled the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nobles said she had to call at least \u201c30 different numbers\u201d to find out what had happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI had to call, and call, and call, and call and call on top of trying to grieve my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dignitymemorial.com\/obituaries\/mobile-al\/kelsey-nobles-8267404\" target=_blank>daughter<\/a>,\u201d Nobles said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The changes at Great Lakes are too little, too late for Kierra, Kenya Evans added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m glad that my daughter is able to probably save other peoples\u2019 lives with this trait that wants to join the military,\u201d she said. \u201cBut what I\u2019m unhappy with (is) the way the Navy handled it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While her daughter told her in January that she was supposed to wear the red-flagged belt, Kenya Evans said she did not know whether Kierra had it on when she died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her autopsy report doesn\u2019t refer to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spokesman Martin could not say if Kierra Evans was wearing the belt on the day she died but said it is \u201cstandard practice\u201d for those with certain medical conditions to wear one during physical exertion to signify they\u2019re at higher risk for health complications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her mother said she last spoke with Kierra Evans in a three-minute phone call on Feb. 20. She believes her daughter\u2019s body was already beginning to break down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said she learned her daughter\u2019s cause of death from news reports and has not heard from the Navy about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evans said she plans to exhume Kierra\u2019s body for a second autopsy and is mulling a lawsuit against the Navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey dropped the ball and they know they did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Harold Nobles sends a text to Kelsey every Saturday in preparation for Auburn football. He tells her he loves her and writes the school\u2019s battle cry: \u201cWar Eagle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI keep thinking, maybe one day I\u2019ll get a text back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<script async=\"1\" defer=\"1\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v14.0\" nonce=\"iN30WD0L\"><\/script><div class=\"fb-video\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AdventHealth\/videos\/1210644842285\/\"><blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AdventHealth\/videos\/1210644842285\/\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AdventHealth\/videos\/1210644842285\/\">Sickle Cell Trait in Athletes<\/a><p>Florida Hospital for Children hematologist and oncologist Dr. Clifford Selsky provides an overview of what it means for an athlete to have the sickle cell trait and what precautions to take.<\/p>Posted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/92730524910\">AdventHealth<\/a> on Tuesday, November 2, 2010<\/blockquote><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Their parents have concerns about how the Navy handled the deaths, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":76217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":88,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[29,116,15,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3482],"class_list":["post-69027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"XM3ZCEY6E5GXVONNUUQ5OT3T74","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/11\/08\/autopsy-reports-reveal-why-two-recruits-died-at-boot-camp\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Autopsy reports reveal why two recruits died at boot camp - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Their parents have concerns about how the Navy handled the deaths, too.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Autopsy reports reveal why two recruits died at boot camp\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Their parents have concerns about how the Navy handled the deaths, too.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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