The body of Sahara Ray, an Australian model and swimwear designer, has been released to her family following her death on October 18 in Los Angeles. An autopsy has been performed, but an official cause of death is still pending.
Ray, who was previously linked to Justin Bieber and Mod Sun, is believed to have died from a suspected fentanyl overdose. She was 34 years old.
According to reports, Ray was transported to a local hospital and placed on life support after the incident. Her family reportedly made the difficult decision to remove her from life support on the same day.
Ray was the mother of a daughter named Snow, born in January, with Michael Bradley Dow. She was the daughter of surf icon Tony Ray and Gretchen Gia Bach.
Her mother, Gretchen Gia Bach, shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, writing about the pain of reading tributes to her daughter. Ray's sister, Ruby Ray, remembered her as a "force of nature" and "a light so bright that this world feels impossibly dimmer without her in it."
A close friend, Jessica Serfaty, told Page Six that Ray had been struggling with mental health issues in the years leading up to her death, describing her as experiencing "so much pain." Serfaty added that Ray was "beginning an entirely new chapter of her life" after welcoming her daughter, and emphasized that life can hold both "extraordinary beauty and profound pain."