Missoula Coroner Identifies Body of Woman Found in Backyard
UPDATE, January 26: The Missoula County Sheriff’s Office has released the identity of the deceased found in the 900 block of 5th Street as Annette E. Buelow, 53, of Missoula. Spokeswoman Brenda Bassett says this recent death has no connection to the death of Christina England.
“There is no reason to believe that the death of Buelow and Christina England, the woman who was found up in the Linda Vista area, were connected in any way,” said Bassett. “Detectives with the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office have no reason to believe that foul play was involved in the death of Christina England.”
According to Bassett, the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office is the coroner for the county and they investigate any unintended death that occurs.
“We have a coroner that comes in and conducts basically a duel investigation along with any criminal investigation that may take place,” Bassett said. “They look at the condition of the person, they look at anything that may surround the body and it also includes an autopsy that is done by the medical examiner’s office. The toxicology is just one of the things that the coroner investigation entails.”
Bassett says the autopsy is completed, but they are still waiting on a toxicology report to prove the official cause and manner of the death.
ORIGINAL STORY, January 25: Missoula Police are investigating after a neighbor called, reporting that they had seen a dead body in a nearby backyard. According to Missoula Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh, the 911 call came in on Tuesday, January 24.
"Before 5:00 p.m., police were called to a residence in the 900 block of South 5th Street East by a person who had reported seeing what had appeared to be a deceased person in the backyard of a residence there," Welsh said. "The officers arrived and made contact with the person who directed them to the location of the body and they did in fact determine that it was a deceased adult female."
Police have identified the body, though are not disclosing the identity until friends and family are notified. The deceased woman was around 50-years-old, but it is unclear what led to her death.
"We typically don't find people who have died out in public very often, so it does lend some uniqueness to this particular case. People do die of natural causes, and sometimes exposure, I don't know if that's the case here, but those are some possibilities, as well as foul play, we haven't ruled anything out as of yet."
According to Welsh, there were no suspects in custody and no one had yet been brought in for interviews with police.