Police Are Investigating a Possible Drowning After Grandma Mary Duggar’s Sudden Death

On Sunday, June 9, the Duggar family revealed that their beloved grandma, Mary Duggar, had suddenly passed away at the age of 78. Though many of Grandma Mary’s grandchildren rushed to eulogize her on social media, no one mentioned how she had died. Now, reports indicate that the police are investigating a potential drowning following the tragic news. According to Radar Online, a 911 call indicated that emergency services were needed for a “possible drowning” at the property the same day that the reality star passed.

Radar noted that the call came in at 4:37 p.m. with the dispatcher reporting a “14 echo,” which the site says is code for an unconscious individual. “Call came in of a possible drowning at [address redacted]. … That’s [address redacted],” the dispatcher said in the recording. “Big house in the back … older woman, 14 echo — unconscious. Medics are responding.” The site also confirmed with the Tontitown Police Department that Mary’s death is being investigated.

Over the years, Grandma Mary stepped in to help raise and care for son Jim Bob Duggar‘s big family. Fans suspected that she was the Kris Jenner of Counting On, pulling strings behind-the-scenes and helping run the show. However, she always found time to be with her family, and that was reflected in the memories they shared of her after her death. She was particularly close with her granddaughter Amy Duggar, who called Mary her best friend.

“It breaks my heart to write this. My best friend passed away yesterday afternoon,” Amy, 32, wrote on Monday, June 10. “Jesus sure took home a treasure. I’m at a loss for words, shaking as I even type this out. I loved her so much. She helped raise me; we did everything together. We’ve been on countless trips, we had lunch together 3 times a week and, if we weren’t together, we were either texting or calling each other. She was so supportive and was so excited to meet our little guy.”

In April 2019, Amy announced that she’s expecting baby No. 1, a little boy. A month later, she posted a photo of her grandma holding her bump as they celebrated Mary’s birthday. At the time, she called her grandma her “favorite person,” revealing that Mary would stop by “almost daily” at the star’s boutique, 3130 Clothing, just to visit. “I just can’t believe she is really gone,” Amy continued in her tribute post. “My heart just hurts and my life will never be the same. Mema, you will always be so precious to me, and you were such a light who impacted so many lives. You lived joyously, and beautifully … and I will miss you every single day.”