Phoenix Police Officer being called witness in death investigation of Saugus native

PHOENIX, Ariz. — The Phoenix Police Officer who investigators are calling a witness in the death investigation of Saugus native Angela Tramonte has been granted personal time off. Police said resources have been offered to the city employee to help him “deal with this tragedy.”

According to authorities in Arizona, there is no evidence of foul play at this time. Family and friends of 31-year-old Tramonte refuse to accept that.

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Friends told Boston 25 News over the weekend that Tramonte flew across the country to meet the man in person after connecting with him on Instagram for a few months. She died less than 24 hours after arriving during a hike in the unforgiving Sonoran Desert heat.

Police said Tramonte and the Phoenix Police Officer she was visiting were walking up Camelback Mountain when she became overheated halfway up the trail.

According to investigators, the man continued walking up the mountain as she turned around to walk back down. He told authorities he didn’t realize she was in trouble until he arrived back to the car and she wasn’t there.

Rescuers later found Tramonte’s body outside a home that backs up against the mountain. Firefighters believe she was trying to alert someone in the area before collapsing.

“There’s more questions that need to be answered, especially with the amount of training that he’s had that other people don’t have,” said Evelyn Doherty Terfori, a friend. “You would think being a police officer, a first responder, that you would have more faith in him that he would be someone you’d be safe with.”

Boston 25 News is not naming the Phoenix Police Officer at this time because he hasn’t been charged with a crime.

A GoFundMe page started by Tramonte’s friends vows to not only help bring her body home and assist with funeral costs but also get justice for her.

“We’re all devastated,” said friend Stacey Gerardi. “We need this to be further investigated.”

The Medical Examiner’s Office in Maricopa County, Ariz. has yet to determine a cause and manner of death.

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