Autopsy results released for Sydney Weston, 8, who died after mid-flight medical episode

Preliminary autopsy results were inconclusive for the young Missouri girl who died after she fell ill on a flight to Chicago with her family, officials said Friday.

Sydney Weston, 8, was flying with her family from Joplin, Mo., for a vacation in the Windy City when she suffered an unspecified medical episode mid-flight and became unresponsive.

Her grave condition prompted the pilot of SkyWest Flight 5121 to signal there was an onboard medical issue. The aircraft was then diverted and made an emergency landing at General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport in Illinois around 7 a.m. Thursday.

Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said the little girl’s body showed no signs of abuse or neglect, and that no evidence of foul play has been discovered, local outlet WGN reported.

“We will be awaiting histology, biopsies, cultures, blood hematology and chemistry, and toxicology testing. These tests generally take four to six weeks to result,” Harwood told the outlet.

“Once we have those tests completed, it is our hope that we will be able to provide a definitive and exact cause of death for this little girl and give her family some answers.”

After the CRJ-200 regional passenger jet was on the ground, paramedics rushed little Sydney to OSF Healthcare Saint Francis Medical Center where she was pronounced dead after “aggressive resuscitative efforts.”