Article:
Tragedy has hit a team in charge of facilitating challenges for “The Amazing Race” and other reality shows on the continent of Africa, a source close to the show tells FoxNews.com. 
  
 At least two freelance facilitating producers were poisoned -- one fatally -- after a failed shakedown attempt, the source told FoxNews.com. 
  
 FoxNews.com also spoke with a person who identified herself as a family member who said the facilitator who died was Jeff Rice. 
  
 The family member said Rice's body was found in Uganda. 
  
 Details are sketchy, but the source said that after refusing to give in to the demands of local thugs, Rice and another facilitator ended up very sick with poisoning of some kind. 
  
 Rice was not currently working on “The Amazing Race,” but he had worked on Season 20, which premiered on CBS on Sunday. Rice had also worked on Animal Planet's "Whale Wars" and the South African version of "The Biggest Loser," along with several other series and television movies. 
  
 A rep for Jerry Bruckheimer Films, the production company behind “The Amazing Race,” said that he had “no knowledge” of the incident. 
  
 CBS had no comment. 
  
 Facilitators are typically local people hired by production companies to make necessary arrangements with local officials before producers come in to shoot scenes for their shows. 
  
 “The Amazing Race” features multiple teams of two competing in a race around the world to win $1,000,000 in prize money. The series became a sensation when it first aired on CBS in September 2001 and continues to be one of the network's highest rated shows. ||||| IMDB 
  
 Authorities are still saying that all signs point to Jeff Rice dying from a cocaine overdose last week. 
  
 An autopsy performed on the producer, who most recently did freelance work on The Amazing Race, turned up "major metabolites of cocaine," according to details given to the Uganda Police Force and confirmed by E! News. 
  
 Per the government's Analytical Laboratory in Wandegeya, investigators also found a baggie of white powder in Rice's hotel room that tested positive for opiates as well as acetaminophen, caffeine and acetylcodein. 
  
 And it gets gorier from there. 
  
 MORE: Police discount poison theory, suspect drug overdose in Jeff Rice's death 
  
 The UPF report states that Rice was found slumped in a chair on the balcony of his room at the Lake Victoria Serena hotel in Kampala, his head resting on a table and blood coming out of his mouth and nose. 
  
 Kathryne Fuller, Rice's assistant, who remains hospitalized, was found unconscious on the floor nearby. Both were booked into room 427, according to police. 
  
 "The police were called in by the hotel. The two were taken to hospital. Jeff Rice was declared dead on arrival," Uganda Media Centre spokesman Fred Opolot tells E! News. "The initial investigations by the doctor who checked them showed Rice probably was suffocated. His lady friend was unconscious and had no indication of suffocation. Above all of that, some white substances were found on the table. Further investigation was done on Jeff Rice. It was found he was intoxicated by a cocaine substance. The police came to the conclusion that he probably had an overdose." 
  
 Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player 
  
 "We heard reports that he was attacked by thugs," Opolot continued. "The hotel he stayed at was a 5-star hotel. The rooms can only be accessed by hotel workers or guests. No one can easily walk in an out. There's good security at the hotel. Those allegations are unfounded." 
  
 They had flown into the country on Feb. 15 to work on a documentary—and the horrific trip may not be over for Fuller anytime soon, reports ABC News. 
  
 Because cocaine was also found in Fuller's system, she may have broken Ugandan drug laws and will need permission from Interpol to be allowed to return home to South Africa, UPF spokesman Asuman Mugenyi told ABC. 
  
 "Ms. Fuller is slowly recovering, and when she is recovered enough we will be able to talk to her and find out more about what happened," Mugenyi said. "She is not able to speak. Although she is responding to the treatment, she is not yet available to explain what transpired." 
  
 MORE: Aretha Franklin Responds to Media Speculation on Missing Whitney Houston's Funeral: "Stop the BS" 
  
 "I send my condolences to Jeff Rice," Opolot told E! News. "It is unfortunate. He came to this country to do a good program—he came across as someone of humanity. It is unfortunate he has passed away and really our condolences to his family. I also want to ensure that the Uganda governance and police force will expedite all investigations to ensure that his cause of death is confirmed. As of now what is known is that Jeff passed away as a result of an overdose of cocaine." 
  
 Rice held dual American and South African citizenship and lived in the Durban area with his wife, Sally Blackwell, and their two daughters. 
  
 Blackwell, who originally told reporters that her husband must have been poisoned as a result of a shakedown-gone-wrong, wrote on Facebook yesterday that the family is tentatively trying to get a memorial together for Feb. 27 at Phe Zulu Village in the Valley of 1,000 Hills. 
  
 "Thank you to everyone for all the tremendous support and kind words," she wrote. "It has been truly amazing to receive messages from people around the world who speak so highly of Jeff. Jeff was on a film production in Uganda and was doing what he loves...He was a true asset to the film industry worldwide and Africa was his 'home'. His dream was to produce in all areas of Africa and for his company 'Maverick entertainment' to be known as the company to call on...As soon as I know more details surrounding his tragic loss, I will update this." 
  
 —Reporting by Sharareh Drury 
  
 GALLERY: Celebrity Deaths: 2012's Fallen Stars ||||| The assistant to "Amazing Race" producer Jeff Rice, who Uganda police say died of a cocaine overdose, may not be allowed to leave the country because she also tested positive for cocaine, police told ABC News today. 
  
 Katheryne Fuller, who was in Kampala, Uganda, to help Rice film a documentary, was found unconscious on a hotel balcony next to Rice last Friday. Both were rushed to a hospital where Rice was declared dead. 
  
 "Ms. Fuller is slowly recovering, and when she is recovered enough we will be able to talk to her and find out more about what happened," Uganda Police Force spokesman Asuman Mugenyi said. "She is not able to speak. Although she is responding to the treatment, she is not yet available to explain what transpired." 
  
 Fuller's father is with her and hoping to take her home to South Africa for medical treatment, but Mugenyi indicated Fuller may not be allowed to go home soon. 
  
 Because she tested positive for cocaine, she likely broke Uganda's drug laws, Mugenyi told ABC News. He said the police were waiting for permission from Interpol to release Fuller to go back to South Africa, and also to release Rice's body to his family in South Africa. 
  
 According to Ugandan police, the two are believed to have voluntarily ingested the substance. 
  
 "There was no struggle. These were two people in their room and there was not a single sign of a struggle. Not even a single bruise on Rice's body," Mugenyi said. 
  
 Mugenyi dismissed earlier reports that Rice might have been poisoned after a run-in with local "thugs." Many friends find it hard to believe that both he and Fuller could have simply overdosed. 
  
 Sources said Rice and Fuller may have been working on an investigative documentary and fear they might have been targeted. However, Uganda Police say they were hired by the Minnesota-based Starkey Hearing Foundation to shoot a documentary about the work of a non-profit in Uganda that provides hearing aids to people who can't afford them. 
  
 "I was shocked," Josh Gates, a friend of Rice's told ABC News. "Jeff was someone who was terrific at his job. I don't know exactly what to think about what happened to Jeff. I hear conflicting reports coming out of the region." 
  
 Ugandan police said they have now ruled out food or drink poisoning. 
  
 "This is a very wrong account," Mugenyi said. "Very wrong." 
  
 'Amazing Race' Producer's Death: Police Await Assistant's Recovery to Gain More Info 
  
 "For him to pass away so young so suddenly is alarming, obviously, but also is surprising because he was someone who was really able to take care of himself in the field. He was excellent at what he did," Gates added. 
  
 Rice was a veteran producer who worked on the latest season of the hit reality series "The Amazing Race" and the Emmy-nominated Animal Planet series "Whale Wars." In addition to raising two young kids, Rice and his wife, Sally Blackman, operated a television and film production company called SB Productions in Durban, South Africa. 
  
 Katheryne Fuller's father Stuart Fuller confirmed she and Rice were shooting a documentary, and said other crew members who were with them should know more about what sickened them. Stuart Fuller said he is now with his daughter at the hospital in Kampala. 
  
 "She is OK. We are trying to get her back to South Africa. She needs medical attention that they can't do here," he said. 
  
 According to a friend of the family, Fuller's wallet and passport are missing from the hotel room, complicating the efforts to have her moved back to South Africa. |||||Summary:
– Police in Uganda have dismissed reports that thugs poisoned Amazing Race producer Jeff Rice, saying the American appears to have died from a cocaine overdose. Rice was found slumped in a chair on his hotel balcony, and an autopsy found the drug in his system, officials say. Rice's assistant Kathryn Fuller, who remains critically ill in a local hospital, also tested positive for the drug, and may not be allowed to leave the country for treatment in her native South Africa until after questioning. Police believe the pair voluntarily ingested the drug, contradicting reports from Rice's wife that he was apparently poisoned after rebuffing a shakedown by local crooks, ABC reports. The two were in Uganda filming a documentary about a non-profit organization that provides the poor with hearing aids. "It is unfortunate," a government official tells E! Online. "He came to this country to do a good program—he came across as someone of humanity. It is unfortunate he has passed away, and really, our condolences to his family."
Artikel: Tragedien har träffat ett team som ansvarar för att underlätta utmaningar för “The Amazing Race” och andra verklighetsshower på kontinenten i Afrika, en källa nära showen berättar FoxNews.com. Åtminstone två frilansande underlättande producenter förgiftades -- en dödligt -- efter ett misslyckat shakedown-försök berättade källan för FoxNews.com. FoxNews.com talade också med en person som identifierade sig som en familjemedlem som sa att kontaktpersonen som dog var Jeff Rice. Familjen sa att Rices kropp hittades i Uganda. Detaljerna är oklara, men källan sade att efter att ha vägrat ge efter för lokala busars krav hamnade Rice och en annan facilitator mycket sjuk i förgiftning av något slag. Rice arbetade för närvarande inte på “The Amazing Race”, men han hade arbetat på säsong 20, som hade premiär på CBS på söndag. Rice hade även arbetat på Animal Planets "Whale Wars" och den sydafrikanska versionen av "The Biggest Loser", tillsammans med flera andra serier och TV-filmer. En representant för Jerry Bruckheimer Films, produktionsbolaget bakom "The Amazing Race", sade att han hade "ingen kunskap" om händelsen. CBS hade ingen kommentar. Underlättare är vanligtvis lokala personer som anlitas av produktionsbolag för att göra nödvändiga arrangemang med lokala tjänstemän innan producenterna kommer in för att filma scener för sina shower. "The Amazing Race" har flera lag av två tävlande i ett lopp runt om i världen för att vinna $ 1.000.000 i prispengar. Serien blev en sensation när den först sändes på CBS i september 2001 och fortsätter att vara en av nätverkets högst rankade shower. Myndigheterna säger fortfarande att alla tecken pekar på att Jeff Rice dog av en kokainöverdos förra veckan. En obduktion utförd på producenten, som senast gjorde frilansarbete på The Amazing Race, dök upp "större metaboliter av kokain", enligt uppgifter som gavs till Uganda Police Force och bekräftades av E! Nyheter. Per regeringens analytiska laboratorium i Wandegeya, fann utredare också en påse med vitt pulver i Rices hotellrum som testades positivt för opiater samt acetaminofen, koffein och acetylcodein. Och det blir gorier därifrån. MER: Polisens rabatt giftteori, misstänkt överdos i Jeff Rices död UPF-rapporten uppger att Rice hittades nedsjunken i en stol på balkongen i hans rum på Victoria Serenas hotell i Kampala, hans huvud vilande på ett bord och blod kom ut ur hans mun och näsa. Kathryne Fuller, Rices assistent, som fortfarande ligger på sjukhus, hittades medvetslös på golvet i närheten. Båda bokades in i rum 427, enligt polisen. "Polisen kallades in av hotellet. De två fördes till sjukhus. Jeff Rice dödförklarades vid ankomsten," Uganda Media Centre talesman Fred Opolot berättar E! Nyheter. "De första undersökningarna av läkaren som kontrollerade dem visade att Rice troligen kvävdes. Hans väninna var medvetslös och hade inga tecken på kvävning. Framför allt hittades några vita ämnen på bordet. Ytterligare utredning gjordes på Jeff Rice. Det konstaterades att han var berusad av ett kokain. Polisen kom fram till att han troligen fått en överdos." Hallå, du har antingen JavaScript avstängt eller en gammal version av Adobes Flash Player. Få senaste Flash-spelaren "Vi hörde rapporter om att han blev attackerad av busar", fortsatte Opolot. "Hotellet han bodde på var ett 5-stjärnigt hotell. Rummen kan endast nås av hotellarbetare eller gäster. Ingen kan lätt gå ut. Det finns bra vakter på hotellet. Dessa påståenden är ogrundade." De hade flugit in i landet den 15 februari för att arbeta på en dokumentär – och den fruktansvärda resan kanske inte är över för Fuller när som helst snart, rapporterar ABC News. Eftersom kokain också fanns i Fullers system kan hon ha brutit mot ugandiska narkotikalagar och kommer att behöva tillstånd från Interpol för att få återvända hem till Sydafrika, berättade UPF:s talesman Asuman Mugenyi för ABC. "Ms. Fuller håller långsamt på att återhämta sig, och när hon har återhämtat sig tillräckligt kommer vi att kunna prata med henne och ta reda på mer om vad som hände," sade Mugenyi. »Hon förmår inte tala. Även om hon svarar på behandlingen, är hon ännu inte tillgänglig för att förklara vad som hände." MER: Aretha Franklin svarar på media Spekulationer om saknade Whitney Houstons begravning: "Stoppa skitsnacket" "Jag skickar mina kondoleanser till Jeff Rice", sa Opolot till E! Nyheter. »Det är olyckligt. Han kom till det här landet för att göra ett bra program – han kom över som en mänsklig person. Det är olyckligt att han har gått bort och verkligen våra kondoleanser till hans familj. Jag vill också se till att Ugandas regering och polis kommer att påskynda alla utredningar för att se till att hans dödsorsak bekräftas. Från och med nu är vad som är känt att Jeff avled till följd av en överdos kokain." Rice innehade dubbelt amerikanskt och sydafrikanskt medborgarskap och bodde i Durbanområdet tillsammans med sin fru, Sally Blackwell, och deras två döttrar. Blackwell, som ursprungligen berättade för reportrar att hennes man måste ha blivit förgiftad till följd av en shakedown-gone-fel, skrev på Facebook igår att familjen trevande försöker få ett minnesmärke tillsammans för 27 feb på Phe Zulu Village i Valley of 1,000 Hills. "Tack till alla för allt det oerhörda stöd och vänliga ord", skrev hon. "Det har verkligen varit fantastiskt att få meddelanden från människor runt om i världen som talar så högt om Jeff. Jeff var med på en filmproduktion i Uganda och gjorde det han älskar...Han var en verklig tillgång för filmindustrin världen över och Afrika var hans 'hem'. Hans dröm var att producera i alla områden i Afrika och att hans företag 'Maverick underhållning' att vara känd som företaget att anropa ... Så snart jag vet mer detaljer om hans tragiska förlust, kommer jag att uppdatera detta." —Rapportera av Sharareh Drury GALLERY: Kändisdödar: 2012's Fallen Stars •• Assistenten till "Amazing Race" producenten Jeff Rice, som Uganda polisen säger dog av en kokain överdos, kanske inte får lämna landet eftersom hon också testade positivt för kokain, berättade polisen ABC News idag. Katheryne Fuller, som var i Kampala, Uganda, för att hjälpa Rice filma en dokumentär, hittades medvetslös på en hotellbalkong bredvid Rice förra fredagen. Båda fördes till ett sjukhus där Rice dödförklarades. "Ms. Fuller håller långsamt på att återhämta sig, och när hon har återhämtat sig tillräckligt kommer vi att kunna prata med henne och ta reda på mer om vad som hände," Uganda Police Force talesman Asuman Mugenyi sade. »Hon förmår inte tala. Även om hon svarar på behandlingen, är hon ännu inte tillgänglig för att förklara vad som hände." Fullers far är med henne och hoppas kunna ta henne hem till Sydafrika för medicinsk behandling, men Mugenyi indikerade att Fuller kanske inte får åka hem snart. Eftersom hon testades positivt för kokain bröt hon troligen mot Ugandas droglagar, Mugenyi berättade för ABC News. Han sa att polisen väntade på tillstånd från Interpol att släppa Fuller för att åka tillbaka till Sydafrika, och även för att släppa Rices kropp till sin familj i Sydafrika. Enligt ugandisk polis tros de båda frivilligt ha intagit substansen. "Det var ingen kamp. Dessa var två personer i sitt rum och det fanns inte ett enda tecken på en kamp. Inte ens ett enda blåmärke på Rices kropp", sa Mugenyi. Mugenyi avfärdade tidigare rapporter om att Rice kan ha blivit förgiftad efter en sammankörning med lokala "thugs". Många vänner har svårt att tro att både han och Fuller helt enkelt kan ha överdoserat. Källor sa Rice och Fuller kan ha arbetat på en undersökande dokumentär och rädsla de kan ha varit riktade. Ugandapolisen säger dock att de anlitades av Minnesota-baserade Starkey Hearing Foundation för att filma en dokumentär om arbetet av en ideell i Uganda som ger hörapparater till människor som inte har råd med dem. "Jag blev chockad", berättade Josh Gates, en vän till Rice för ABC News. "Jeff var en fantastisk person på sitt jobb. Jag vet inte vad jag ska tro om Jeff. Jag hör motstridiga rapporter från regionen." Ugandas polis sade att de nu har uteslutit mat- eller dryckesförgiftning. "Detta är en mycket fel konto," Mugenyi sade. "Mycket fel." 'Amazing Race' Producer's Death: Police Await Assistant's Recovery to Gain More Info "För honom att gå bort så ung så plötsligt är alarmerande, naturligtvis, men är också förvånande eftersom han var någon som verkligen kunde ta hand om sig själv i fält. Han var utmärkt på det han gjorde", tillade Gates. Rice var en veteranproducent som arbetade med den senaste säsongen av hit realityserien "The Amazing Race" och den Emmy-nominerade Animal Planet-serien "Whale Wars." Förutom att uppfostra två unga barn drev Rice och hans fru, Sally Blackman, ett TV- och filmproduktionsbolag vid namn SB Productions i Durban, Sydafrika. Katheryne Fullers far Stuart Fuller bekräftade att hon och Rice filmade en dokumentär, och sade att andra besättningsmän som var med dem borde veta mer om vad som äcklade dem. Stuart Fuller sa att han nu är med sin dotter på sjukhuset i Kampala. "Hon är okej, vi försöker få henne tillbaka till Sydafrika. Hon behöver läkarvård som de inte kan göra här," sade han. Enligt en vän till familjen saknas Fullers plånbok och pass från hotellrummet, vilket komplicerar ansträngningarna att få henne flytta tillbaka till Sydafrika. ••••••••••••••••••••••
Article: Tragedy has met a team responsible for facilitating challenges for “The Amazing Race” and other reality shows on the continent of Africa, a source near the show tells FoxNews.com. At least two freelance facilitating producers were poisoned -- a deadly -- after a failed shakedown attempt told FoxNews.com the source. FoxNews.com also spoke to a person who identified himself as a family member who said the contact person who died was Jeff Rice. The family said Rice's body was found in Uganda. The details are unclear, but the source said that after refusing to yield to local thugs' demands, Rice and another facilitator ended up very ill with poisoning of some kind. Rice was not currently working on “The Amazing Race”, but he had been working on season 20, which premiered on CBS on Sunday. Rice had also worked on Animal Planet's "Whale Wars" and the South African version of "The Biggest Loser", along with several other series and television films. A representative of Jerry Bruckheimer Films, the production company behind "The Amazing Race", said he had "no knowledge" of the event. CBS had no comment. Facilitators are usually local people hired by production companies to make necessary arrangements with local officials before producers come in to film scenes for their shows. "The Amazing Race" has several teams of two contestants in a race around the world to win $1,000,000 in prize money. The series became a sensation when it first aired on CBS in September 2001 and continues to be one of the network's highest ranked shows. Authorities still say all signs indicate Jeff Rice died of a cocaine overdose last week. An autopsy performed on the producer, who last did freelance work at The Amazing Race, appeared "major metabolites of cocaine", according to data given to Uganda Police Force and confirmed by E! News. As per the government's analytical laboratory in Wandegeya, investigators also found a bag of white powder in Rice's hotel room that tested positive for opiates as well as acetaminophen, caffeine and acetylcodein. And there'll be goori from there. MORE: Police discount poison theory, suspected overdose in Jeff Rice's death the UPF report states that Rice was found sunk in a chair on the balcony of his room at Victoria Serena's hotel in Kampala, his head resting on a table and blood coming out of his mouth and nose. Kathryne Fuller, Rice's assistant, who is still in hospital, was found unconscious on the floor nearby. Both were booked into room 427, according to police. "The police were called in by the hotel. The two were taken to hospital. Jeff Rice was pronounced dead on arrival," Uganda Media Centre spokesman Fred Opolot tells E! News. "The first examinations of the doctor who checked them showed that Rice was likely suffocated. His friend was unconscious and had no signs of suffocation. Above all, some white substances were found on the table. Further investigation was done on Jeff Rice. It was found that he was drunk with a cocaine. The police concluded that he probably had an overdose." Hello, you have either JavaScript suspended or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Few recent Flash player "We heard reports that he was attacked by thugs," Opolot continued. "The hotel he stayed at was a 5-star hotel. The rooms can only be reached by hotel workers or guests. No one can go out easily. There are good guards at the hotel. These claims are unfounded." They had flown into the country on February 15 to work on a documentary—and the terrible journey may not be over for Fuller at any time soon, reports ABC News. As cocaine was also present in Fuller's system, she may have violated Ugandan drug laws and will need permission from Interpol to return home to South Africa, UPF spokesman Asuman Mugenyi told ABC. "Ms. Fuller is slowly recovering, and once she has recovered enough we will be able to talk to her and find out more about what happened," Mugenyi said. "She is not able to speak. Although she responds to the treatment, she is not yet available to explain what happened." MORE: Aretha Franklin responds to media Speculations about missing Whitney Houston's funeral: "Stop the bullshit" "I send my condolences to Jeff Rice," Opolot told E! News. "It's unfortunate. He came to this country to make a good program—he came over as a human person. It is unfortunate that he has passed away and indeed our condolences to his family. I would also like to ensure that the Ugandan Government and the police will speed up all investigations to ensure that his cause of death is confirmed. From now on, what is known that Jeff died as a result of an overdose of cocaine." Rice held dual American and South African citizenship and lived in the Durban area with his wife, Sally Blackwell, and their two daughters. Blackwell, who originally told reporters that her husband must have been poisoned as a result of a shakedown-gone error, signed Facebook yesterday that the family tentatively is trying to get a memorial together for Feb 27 at Phe Zulu Village in the Valley of 1,000 Hills. "Thanks to everyone for all that tremendous support and kind words," she wrote. "It's really been amazing to get messages from people around the world talking so loudly about Jeff. Jeff was on a film production in Uganda and did what he loves...He was a real asset to the film industry worldwide and Africa was his 'home'. His dream was to produce in all areas of Africa and that his company 'Maverick entertainment' to be known as the company to call...As soon as I know more details about his tragic loss, I will update this." —Reporting by Sharareh Drury GALLery: Celebrity Kills: 2012's Fallen Stars  Assistant to "Amazing Race" producer Jeff Rice, whom Uganda police say died of a cocaine overdose, may not be allowed to leave the country because she also tested positive for cocaine, police told ABC News today. Katherine Fuller, who was in Kampala, Uganda, to help Rice film a documentary, was found unconscious on a hotel balcony next to Rice last Friday. Both were taken to a hospital where Rice was pronounced dead. "Ms. Fuller is slowly recovering, and once she has recovered enough we will be able to talk to her and find out more about what happened," Uganda Police Force spokesman Asuman Mugenyi said. "She is not able to speak. Although she responds to the treatment, she is not yet available to explain what happened." Fuller's father is with her and hopes to take her home to South Africa for medical treatment, but Mugenyi indicated that Fuller may not be allowed to go home soon. Since she was tested positive for cocaine, she probably broke Ugandan drug laws, Mugenyi told ABC News. He said police were waiting for permission from Interpol to release Fuller to go back to South Africa, and also to release Rice's body to his family in South Africa. According to Ugandan police, they are both believed to have voluntarily taken the substance. "It wasn't a fight. These were two people in their room and there was not a single sign of a struggle. Not even a single bruise on Rice's body," Mugenyi said. Mugenyi dismissed previous reports that Rice may have been poisoned after a run-up with local "thugs". Many friends find it hard to believe that both he and Fuller may have simply overdosed. Sources said Rice and Fuller may have been working on an investigative documentary and fear they may have been targeted. However, Uganda police say they were hired by the Minnesota-based Starkey Hearing Foundation to film a documentary about the work of a nonprofit in Uganda who provides hearing aids to people who cannot afford them. "I was shocked," Josh Gates, a friend of Rice told ABC News. "Jeff was an amazing person at his job. I don't know what to think about Jeff. I hear conflicting reports from the region." Ugandan police said they have now ruled out food or drink poisoning. "This is a very wrong account," Mugenyi said. "Very wrong." 'Amazing Race' Producer's Death: Police Await Assistant's Recovery to Gain More Info "For him to go away so young so suddenly is alarming, of course, but is also surprising because he was someone who could really take care of himself in the field. He was excellent at what he did," Gates added. Rice was a veteran producer who worked on the last season of the hit reality series "The Amazing Race" and the Emmy-nominated Animal Planet series "Whale Wars." In addition to raising two young children, Rice and his wife, Sally Blackman, ran a television and film production company called SB Productions in Durban, South Africa. Katherine Fuller's father Stuart Fuller confirmed that she and Rice were filming a documentary, saying other crew members who were with them should know more about what disgusted them. Stuart Fuller said he's now with his daughter at the hospital in Kampala. "She's okay, we're trying to get her back to South Africa. She needs medical attention that they can't do here," he said. According to a family friend, Fuller's wallet and passport are missing from the hotel room, complicating efforts to have her move back to South Africa. <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk>
– Polisen i Uganda har avfärdat rapporter om att ligister förgiftat Amazing Race producenten Jeff Rice, säger att amerikanen verkar ha dött av en kokainöverdos. Rice hittades nedsjunken i en stol på hans hotellbalkong, och en obduktion hittade drogen i hans system, säger myndigheterna. Rices assistent Kathryn Fuller, som förblir kritiskt sjuk på ett lokalt sjukhus, testade också positivt för drogen, och får inte lämna landet för behandling i sitt hemland Sydafrika förrän efter förhör. Polisen tror att paret frivilligt tog drogen, motsäger rapporter från Rices fru att han tydligen förgiftades efter att ha avslagit en repressali av lokala skurkar, ABC rapporterar. De två var i Uganda och filmade en dokumentär om en ideell organisation som förser de fattiga med hörapparater. "Det är olyckligt", säger en regeringstjänsteman till E! På nätet. "Han kom till det här landet för att göra ett bra program – han kom över som en mänsklig person. Det är olyckligt att han har gått bort, och egentligen, våra kondoleanser till hans familj."
“The Ugandan police have dismissed reports that thugs poisoned Amazing Race producer Jeff Rice, saying that the American appears to have died from a cocaine overdose. Rice was found sunk in a chair on his hotel balcony, and an autopsy found the drug in his system, authorities say. Rice's assistant Kathryn Fuller, who remains critically ill at a local hospital, also tested positive for the drug, and may not leave the country for treatment in her native South Africa until after interrogation. Police believe the couple voluntarily took the drug, contradicting reports from Rice's wife that he was apparently poisoned after rejecting a reprisal by local villains, ABC reports. The two were in Uganda filming a documentary about a nonprofit organization that provides hearing aids to the poor. "It's unfortunate," says a government official to E! Online. "He came to this country to make a good program—he came over as a human person. It's unfortunate that he's passed away, and really, our condolences to his family."