John Travolta's Son Dies

January 2, 2009

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Jett Travolta, 16, died earlier today in the Bahamas, where he was vacation with his father and mother, John's lawyer confirmed.

The attorney said that Jett suffered a seizure at his family's vacation home at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he died on the scene.

A spokesperson for Royal Bahamas Police Dept. said that Jett, who arrived with his family on the island on Dec. 30, was last seen Jan. 1 when he went to use a bathroom in the family's vacation home. His unconscious body was found by a family employee this morning at 10 am.

Another spokeswoman added that the teen hit his head in a bathtub.

There have long been reports that Jett, who has a history of suffering seizures, was autistic, though John and Kelly denied it, saying that he instead suffers from Kawasaki Disease, a relatively rare illness which could cause heart problems. In an interview with USA Today in 2002, Kelly recalled her son's diagnosis after he became "very, very sick with high fever and swollen glands and peeling fingers and rash all over his body" eight years earlier.

John, who named one of his many airplanes after his son, has said the boy loved "the outdoors — sports, swimming, bike riding, hiking."

In recent years, John and Kelly have talked about their desire to expand their family, which includes an 8-year-old daughter Ella, saying sleepless nights with a new baby wouldn't faze them at all. "Kelly and I used to race to see who could get to Jett first," he told Reader's Digest.

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