A disabled St. James woman was found unconscious in her in-ground swimming pool Monday and was air-evacuated to the University Hospital in Columbia, where she died.
Julie Anne Ratliff, 30, was discovered by a family member at approximately 4 p.m.  She was taken to the hospital by helicopter shortly after 6 p.m.
Ratliff was a paraplegic and was paralyzed from the waist, having sustained injuries from an automobile accident.
The investigation of her death is complete, and Ratliff’s cause of death was accidental drowning, said Detective Andy Davis, Phelps County Sheriff’s Department.
“She’s been known to swim alone,” Davis said.
Memorials are suggested to the Rusk Rehab-Spinal Cord Injury in Columbia.