A New York woman cooked alive during a spiritual cleansing ceremony was in excellent physical condition before she died, her family says.
Kirby Brown, 38, was an avid surfer and hiker and "in top shape" according to her family, when she was killed after sitting in a sauna-like "sweat lodge" at the Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat in Arizona on Thursday.
Forty-year-old Milwaukee man James Shore also died while 19 others were rushed to hospital with conditions including burns, dehydration, respiratory arrest, kidney failure and elevated body temperature.
Another person remains in a critical condition.
"Our only thought is shock, sadness and surprise," Ms Brown's cousin McFeeley told Fox News.
"There will be plenty of time to react to the truth of what happened here, but we believe it is pointless to be angry or to place blame or to make assumptions before we understand what occurred here."
The camp was reportedly rented by James Arthur Ray, a contributor to controversial self-help film The Secret.
US police are investigating if Ray can face criminal charges following the sweat lodge incident, in which water is poured on heated rocks to create steam in a sauna-like enclosure.
Ray's "Spiritual Warrior" camp began on October 3 with promises to "absolutely change your life".
On the morning of the fatal incident, the 64 participants began their day with a buffet breakfast after fasting for 36 hours.
They attended a seminar and then entered the steam room about 3pm.
A little more than two hours later, Mr Shore and Ms Brown were taken out of the lodge without a pulse and not breathing.
Rescue crews arrived at the remote property to find other people experiencing medical distress and a nurse hired by Ray was directing rescue efforts including CPR.
Mr Shore and Ms Brown were pronounced dead when they arrived at a hospital.
An autopsy was conducted on Friday, but the results are pending additional tests.
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