Nov. 3 update: The Honolulu Star Advertiser has reported that Andy Irons’ death is being investigated as a possible methadone overdose, since the controlled substance was found among a number of medications in his hotel room when he died. An autopsy was due to be performed today, but toxicology results may take up to three months to complete.

While rumors of drug use cropped up early in Irons’ career, and methadone is widely used as a substitute for heroin, it’s worth noting that there’s no question that Irons had contracted dengue fever, one of the symptoms of which is severe pain (as several commenters below note.) And while most recover from dengue fever, the complication known as dengue hemorraghic fever kills half of untreated patients who go into shock, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

The surf world continues to mourn the loss of Irons; the Rip Curl Pro Search event in Puerto Rico that he had withdrawn from held a special paddle out in his honor today, and postponed resumption of the competition until Friday, Nov. 5.

The original Nov. 2 post:

The surfing world and his home island of Kaua’i are reeling from the news that three-times world champion Andy Irons died this morning, reportedly from dengue fever. According to the Hawaii News Now report, the 32-year-old surfer died in Dallas en route to the Garden Island, after pulling out of a competition in Puerto Rico.

A longer story on his hometown paper’s Web Site, GardenIsland.com, reports that Irons had been diagnosed with dengue fever in Puerto Rico, and had first sought medical treatment in Miami before deciding to see his doctor on Kaua’i. He was on a layover when it was determined he was too sick to continue flying home, and after checking himself into a hotel, never woke up, according to GardenIsland.com.

Irons’ wife, Lyndie, is expecting their first child within a month, GardenIsland.com reported. His younger brother, Bruce, is also a champion surfer based on Kaua’i, and sponsored with Andy and their family the annual Irons Brothers Pinetrees Classic, a contest at their home break for young surfers. Andy Irons had to miss this year’s Classic in March, the ninth such event, but spoke with the keiki contestants via cell phone from Australia, where he was recovering from an injury, according to an earlier Garden Island story.

Andy Irons is featured in numerous surfing documentaries, including 2004’s “Blue Horizons.” A 4-minute video interview with surf footage (see below), posted by his sponsor Billabong on Aug. 23, begins with this voiceover: “When I was young, when I surfed, it was because Kelly Slater did it, I surfed because it was hyped, I surfed because I got chicks, I surfed because it was a party, I surfed because I got the cool car. I got all those cool things, and they all just became … just, you know, stuff. But it’s all about the feeling I get from riding that wave.”

The soundtrack is an A.A. Bondy song called “Killed Myself When I Was Young.” E ho’omaha me ka maluhia — rest in peace, Andy.