Phoebus grad dies on hiking trip

HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) - Family and friends are mourning the loss of a Hampton teen, who died while hiking in Colorado.

Caitlin Kremp, 18, was on a hiking trip with her fellow students from Virginia Commonwealth University. Authorities say she fell 200 feet. 

La Plata County Emergency Management officials in Colorado tell WAVY.com they got a distress call around 8 a.m. Tuesday. The agency dispatched search and rescue to a steep canyon in the Chicago Basin area, part of the San Juan National Forest.

VCU officials say Kremp was hiking with a group of eight others. The excursion was part of the University's Outdoor Activities Program. The university says Kremp was a Dean's list business major.

Kremp graduated from Phoebus High School in 2011. She earned the second highest GPA in her class. She was the captain of the Phantom field hockey and soccer teams.

Kremp's former coach says her athletic ability was second only to her love of life.

"There's a part of me that's extremely saddened," said Phoebus Coach Ryan Pringle. "You want to break down and cry, but there's the other part that can't help but be happy you got to know her and be a part of her life."

"She was that perfect inspiration," said Esmeralda Coes, one of Kremp's teammates. "She was that person if you felt the need to talk to someone, she was always there."

Coes wore a tie dye t-shirt Thursday, one Kremp made for her. The Kremp family says tie dye was always Caitlin's favorite and the pattern is a good representation of her colorful personality.

That personality was showcased on the MTV reality show 'Made.' The show featured Kremp's athletic team, but she grew into a main role in the episode. Pringle says Kremp was always a natural leader.

"Caitlin had immense potential, a lot of potential," he said. "She had the right attitude. She had the right outlook on life."

Field hockey player Keli Smith Puzo coached Kremp and her team on the MTV show. After her death, Puzo tweeted about Kremp, dedicating the next game to her and saying she was "an amazing young woman that I was lucky to know!. R.I.P. Caitlin."

A vigil will be held at Phoebus High School Thursday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Organizers say those who attend should wear a tie-dyed shirt in Kremp's honor.

Kremp will be laid to rest Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to a scholarship in her name.

Donations can be made at the Old Point National Bank, located at 11751 Jefferson Ave. in Newport News. Donors should reference the 'VCU Scholarship in Memory of Caitlin Kremp.'  

Kremp's sister sent WAVY.com the following statement Thursday: "Caitlin was an extraordinary, amazing and unique person, and her personality will never be able to be captured in words. She was the best daughter, sister, family member and friend anyone could have ever asked for."

"We all, in a way, wish whenever it's our time, we wish to go out doing what we love," said Pringle. "Caitlin loved the outdoors."