A Chicago woman has died after allegedly falling off a boat and into dangerous waters. Zahrie Walls, a popular hairstylist, was recovered from Lake Michigan near the Navy Pier. According to the Chicago Tribune, the 27-year-old was found in the water and transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead last weekend. Law enforcement has opened an investigation into the circumstances.
“It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing,” her mother, Kizzy Wells, detailed to the outlet. “She was on a boat and allegedly fell off due to the current. She doesn’t go out much because she works all the time, traveling to different cities. My baby works so hard. She was doing 10 to 12 (hair appointments) a day.”
While Walls’s tragic death occured during the midwestern city’s Black Yacht Weekend, her specific vessel or location was not a part of official events. The organizers issued a statement on Sunday (June 22), per the Tribune, and offered condolences to the family. The statement also confirmed that the death “has not been officially linked to any of our attendees.”
Walls was a self-proclaimed celebrity hairstylist and racked up thousands of followers on social media. She owned her own salon and offered virtual classes as described in her Instagram biography. Walls was also best friends with Kenneka Jenkins, who died in 2017.
Jenkins’ death was officially ruled an accident due to hypothermia; however, the circumstances of her walking into a hotel freezer and not being found until it was too late sparked nationwide headlines and conspiracies.
“Kenneka was her person to try different hairstyles on when she was just learning,” Wells said to the Tribune. “She never healed (from her death). She has her name tattooed on her upper shoulder.”
According to CBS News, when Walls fell into the water, she was not wearing a life jacket, and she did not know how to swim. The outlet noted, the Coast Guard claimed to have responded to 34 calls over the weekend, despite normally responding to five to ten calls on a typical summer weekend.
“That’s Lake Michigan. It’s not a pool,” her mother shared. “You have to have special equipment during times such as that.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Walls was one of two likely drowning deaths over the weekend as the Chicago Fire Department responded to 90 calls of heat and water-related emergencies.
VIBE sends our condolences to the friends, family, and all impacted by the death of Zahrie Walls.
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