PETERSBURG (AP) -- A preliminary autopsy report indicates an 85-year-old woman whose body was found Sunday in a swampy area along U.S. Highway 2 died of exposure.
The body of Flora Young of West Fargo was found about 75 yards from her car. Nelson County Sheriff Kelly Janke said there was no sign of a crime.
Janke said a final autopsy report will not be finished for about a month, but a preliminary autopsy indicates expo-sure to the cold caused Young's death.
Authorities have no indication that Young had serious health problems and her family said she was "in a good frame of mind," the sheriff said.
Family members said Young did not travel out of the Fargo area much.
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Janke said Young grew up in the Rolla area and lived in Devils Lake for many years. She had lived in West Fargo for about 10 years, he said.
Why she was traveling along U.S. 2 is "something we probably will never know," the sheriff said.
A Nelson County officer spotted Young's car along the road Friday night and asked her if she needed help, but she said she had just pulled off the road to rest.
When a Highway Patrol officer stopped at the same car later Friday night, the vehicle was locked with Young's purse and other belongings still inside, but she was gone.
The car was in the same spot when Young was reported missing Saturday. Searchers found no sign of her then, but they resumed the search Sunday and found her body.
