Death of cheerleader
in Maui fall investigatedTwo men are held for questioning
after her nude body is found
WAILUKU >> Lauren Crossan worked hard to earn the trip from New Jersey to Maui to perform with 600 other cheerleaders at the halftime of the Hula Bowl.
Crossan, captain of her competitive cheerleading squad, was one of three cheerleaders selected from Randolph High School by the National Cheerleaders Association for the performance, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.
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Lauren Crossan: New Jersey native was captain of her cheerleading squad
"These girls have been cheerleading for years, and we figured it was a once in a lifetime chance to go to Hawaii so why not let them go," Rocky D'Aconti, the father of another Randolph High cheerleader, told the Star-Ledger. "But as fast as they got there, it turned bad."
The nude body of 18-year-old Crossan, of Randolph, N.J., was found on the grounds of the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa in Kaanapali on Monday morning.
Two Folsom, Calif., men were being held last night for investigation in the death of Crossan. The men, 19 and 20 years old, were arrested at 2:45 a.m. yesterday but have not been charged, said Maui police acting Lt. Tivoli Faaumu.
"At this time, we're not ruling out anything," Faaumu said.
He said the two men have no connection to the Hula Bowl or the National Cheerleaders Association.
Faaumu said Maui police planned to talk with the county Prosecutor's Office about evidence gathered by detectives, including the partial results of an autopsy yesterday and interviews with the two men.
He said the autopsy showed her injuries were consistent with a fall and police believe she fell from the ninth-story Lahaina tower balcony of a room occupied by the two men.
Faaumu said that the men said they met Crossan for the first time in the hotel after she arrived on Sunday evening.
"From what I gather she met them at the hotel lobby, and she was befriended by one of the persons registered or staying at the room," he said. "They went up to the room."
The men said Crossan was in the room when they went to sleep and when they woke up, they had no idea where she had gone.
A guest looking down from the Lahaina tower found the body, and police were called at 7:46 a.m. Monday.
Crossan's clothes were found in the men's hotel room, and a preliminary examination indicated there was no sign of them being torn, he said.
Faaumu said detectives may have to wait up to two weeks to obtain the results of laboratory tests to determine if there were any drugs or alcohol in Crossan's system or if there are indications of sexual assault.
