Vacationing Maryland woman dies after getting stuck in window of Florida Keys motel room

MARATHON, Fla. — A Maryland woman was killed earlier this month after she got stuck in the window of her Florida motel room as she tried to climb inside, authorities said.

Sydney Therriault, 22, of Beallsville, died of asphyxia, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Therriault was a guest at the Pelican RV Resort & Marina in Grassy Key.

Therriault’s body was discovered shortly before 7:30 a.m. March 18.

“It appeared she did not have a hotel key and was attempting to make entry to her room via the window,” according to Sheriff’s Office officials.

No foul play was suspected.

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Therriault’s mother, Sandy Wright, wrote on Facebook that her daughter died doing one of the things she did best: enjoying life. She traveled to the Florida Keys because she’d never been, Wright said.

“She did not have the key to her room and determined to solve the problem with that fearless confidence of hers by climbing through the window,” Wright wrote. “As we know, it did not go as planned.”

Therriault was a budding artist who began honing her gift at a young age, drawing on her bedroom walls.

“As young as 2 or 3 years old, we would wake up in the morning to another round of artwork that she had done during the night,” Wright wrote. “At midnight, she would toddle down the hall and wake us up to show us her drawing.

“Her most recent works, part of her studies in painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design, constantly impressed with a new level of expression and technical achievement.”

Therriault was also known for her kindness and empathy.

“She touched countless lives in important ways, continuously defending the underdog as she took upon herself the world’s inherent unfairness,” Wright wrote. “River, her beloved dorky husky, is well and will be returning home here in Maryland.

“Sydney lived life to the fullest at every moment. And this is what we will do.”

Therriault’s father, local sculptor David Therriault, also posted about the loss of their daughter.

“From this horror her light will shine,” Therriault wrote. “That I promise you. I will hold the light high so you all will know.”

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Sydney Therriault’s Facebook page is full of photos that include Dylan Fisher, her boyfriend. Fisher, 22, died Dec. 12, 2017. Social media posts from family members indicate Fisher died of a drug overdose.

In a 2019 Facebook post, Therriault wrote that she’d driven nine hours from her school in Georgia, during finals, to participate in a Stomp out Heroin 5k run/walk.

“We make room for the important things in our lives, no matter how inconvenient,” Therriault wrote. “I STOMP every year for my prince; distance means nothing.”

Fisher’s mother, Candi Fisher, shared multiple photos of the young couple in the aftermath of Therriault’s death.

“I truly believe that those two angels are so very happy,” a friend wrote in response to one photo.

“Together again,” another friend posted. “Prayers to you all, and her family.”


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