Model Dayle Haddon found dead: Police release new details following carbon monoxide leak
Police are releasing new details after Dayle Haddon, the supermodel and actress, was found dead at 76.
The Solebury Township Police Department confirmed the humanitarian's death in a statement posted to their website Saturday, writing that "the investigation indicates a faulty flue and exhaust pipe on a gas heating system caused the carbon monoxide leak."
"This tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of carbon monoxide safety precautions in our homes," the department said in the updated statement.
Toxicology reports are "pending" until all test results are completed, according to a brief statement to Paste BN from Bucks County Coroner Patti Campi on Saturday.
Haddon found dead in Pennsylvania home
Police from Solebury Township in Bucks County, which is in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, began investigating the property at 6:30 a.m. Friday, after a resident called 911 to report a 76-year-old man lying down, passed out on the first floor of a detached "in-law" suite.
CBS News reported that the home is owned by Haddon's daughter, former journalist Ryan Haddon, and son-in-law, the actor Marc Blucas.
The unidentified man was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, according to the police report. His condition was not immediately available. A second victim, a 76-year-old woman, was found dead in the detached suite's second-floor bedroom, according to the report.
Hospitalized survivor is father-in-law of Dayle Haddon's daughter
In Saturday's statement police confirmed the man, who is currently hospitalized in critical condition, is identified as Walter J. Blucas, the father of Marc Blucas and father-in-law of Haddon's daughter. The elder Blucas is past president of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., a governing body for middle and high school sports in Pennsylvania.
Eliot Gross, the deputy coroner of Bucks County, confirmed to Paste BN that the female victim was Haddon on Friday.
Volunteer firefighters on the scene detected a "high level of carbon monoxide" in the property, according to the police report. Two medics were transferred to the hospital for carbon monoxide exposure, and one was treated on the scene.
Dayle Haddon was a top supermodel in the 1970s
The Canadian-born Haddon was one of the top models in the 1970s, posing on the cover of the 1973 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Haddon starred in the 1973 Disney movie "The World's Greatest Athlete" and in Hollywood films such as 1979's football satire "North Dallas Forty" along with Nick Nolte.
She also served as a L'Oréal spokesperson and was the author of "Ageless Beauty: A Woman's Guide to Lifelong Beauty and Well-Being."
Marc Blucas, 52, from Butler, PA., is a former Wake Forest University basketball star who turned to acting and appeared on WB's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as Riley Finn, an ex-boyfriend to Buffy Anne Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar).
He's also appeared in "Blue Bloods" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and starred in 2004's "First Daughter," playing the love interest to the daughter (Katie Holmes) of the U.S. President (Michael Keaton). Ryan Haddon was married to actor Christian Slater from 2000-06. She has been married to Blucas since 2009.
Ryan Haddon, Dayle Haddon's daughter: 'There are no accidents'
In an Instagram post Friday, Ryan Haddon mourned the loss of her mom in a lengthy caption, writing that "she was a woman in her power, yet soft and attentive to all. Deeply creative and curious, gifted with beauty inside and out. Always kind and thoughtful."
"The bright light that is Dayle has dimmed in this Earthly realm. Shining somewhere as radiantly as ever where it’s most needed, I have no doubt," she said at the beginning of the post.
"I always trust the timing of things. There are no accidents and certainly how we enter and exit this world is mystical and unknowable. She was a high-hearted spiritual being that put value on her soul’s evolution, so I know her journey here in this dimension must have been complete," Ryan Haddon said.
She continued: "I honor her. I bow to her. I revere all the paths and adventures taken. I saw her be golden and always reach for the Light in all areas of her life."
Carbon monoxide kills 400 in US each year
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, carbon monoxide poisoning kills more than 400 people each year in the United States on average and causes more than 100,000 Americans to visit the emergency room.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas that can build up in enclosed or partially enclosed spaces, poisoning people and animals who breathe in too much, the CDC says. According to the health agency, inhaling carbon monoxide prevents the body from receiving and using oxygen properly and disrupts "respiration at the cellular level," which can harm organs, including the heart and brain.
Experts from the CDC recommend installing battery-operated or battery backup carbon monoxide monitors in sleeping areas in homes and checking the detectors regularly to ensure they are working properly.
The agency also recommends the following safety tips to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning:
- Buy only equipment carrying the seal of a national testing agency, such as Underwriters Laboratories.
- Never use a generator in enclosed spaces, including in your home and garage. Place generators outside and more than 20 feet from your home, doors and windows.
- Have your heating system, water heater, and other gas-, oil- or coal-powered appliances serviced yearly by technicians.
- Remember to service any appliances in your home that emit gas.
- Clean and check your chimneys every year.
- Never use a gas oven to heat a home.
- Never burn charcoal indoors.
- Never run a vehicle inside an attached garage. For detached garages, leave the door open to allow air to flow.
Contributing: Minnah Arshad, Joanna K. Tzouvelis