How and why a Colorado Springs student died days short of her 19th birthday in her Colorado State University dorm room in February could not be determined, according to an autopsy report released Friday.

Jordyn-Rhea Tuiasosopo, 18, was found Feb. 4.

She would have been 19 on Feb. 8, her mother said Friday.

Click here to donate to the Jordyn-Rhea Tuiasosopo Memorial Scholarship fund

Extensive toxicology tests found no evidence of drugs and she had no medical history that explained her death, said Steve Hanks, Larimer County deputy coroner and investigator.

Fluid in Tuiasosopo’s lungs indicated a possible cardiac issue could have killed her. There was no sign of trauma or foul play, and evidence points toward a natural death, Hanks said.

But the cause and manner of her death were officially ruled undetermined, which is rare. Hanks said they see maybe one or two cases a year where cause and manner are both unclear.

Tuiasosopo’s mother Nita spoke with the Coroner’s Office Friday morning and said she gained a little closure, but not knowing exactly what happened to her daughter has been hard to grasp.

“I was just glad she didn’t suffer from any violent behavior or anything like that,” she said.

But it doesn’t explain why she had to bury her bright, funny, outgoing daughter so soon after dropping her off for her first year of college. Jordyn was in the Air Force ROTC and was majoring in sociology with a concentration in criminology.

“I know she was ready,” Nita Tuiasosopo said. “She was ready to start her career and her life.”

She was born in Long Beach California in 1996 and grew up in American Samoa before moving to Colorado Springs. She was on the track team at Sierra High School, where she graduated in 2014.

Jordyn leaves behind four younger siblings – 14, 6 and 13-year-old twins – who all looked up to her.

“She was their mentor and she just led them,” Nita Tuiasosopo said. “She paved the way for them, set good examples.”

Nita Tuiasosopo has a military background and Jordyn knew she wanted to be in the military, too, as a freshman in high school. She was active in Sierra’s junior AFROTC program and loved it, Nita Tuiasosopo said.

“She was in charge of a lot of the drills and stuff like that,” she said. “It was just fun to her. She liked leading the class when they did their drills and competitions.”

Nita Tuiasosopo has set up a memorial scholarship fund in her daughter’s honor for other CSU AFROTC students. She wants the money to go to someone who plans to stick with it for all four years.

“That’s what Jordyn would have done,” she said.

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Contact Kassondra Cloos: 636-0362

Twitter: @Kassondra Cloos