Missionary Collapses Unexpectedly, Dies of Heart Attack

Nathan McBride, an LDS missionary serving in Mexico, died suddenly of a heart attack while playing soccer with community members Friday.

When McBride, 20, collapsed during a break in the game, other players called paramedics and performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital. He had just started the second year of his two-year mission.

Tri-City Herald said that McBride’s parents, Robert and Rhonda McBride, were shocked when a church official delivered the news to their home late Friday because his son was healthy and didn’t have any medical conditions. They were told that there was no sign of damage or harm to Nathan’s body.

The family is working with the American Consulate to get McBride’s body home. They are hoping to have the funeral Jan. 24.

McBride was known as a dedicated student who maintained a 3.8 grade-point average and had dreams of becoming an orthopedic surgeon one day. He spent his time volunteering at a local Humane Society, and was an active kid who loved pole vaulting, playing basketball, hiking, and fishing.

“Nathan was serving the Lord as a missionary and he was doing what he was supposed to be doing,” Robert McBride told Tri-City Herald. “And he was happy, he was very happy. He loved what he was doing.”