No foul play suspected in body found at Mountaineer
By IAN HICKS, For The Weirton Daily TimesCHESTER - Foul play did not appear to play a role in the death of a woman whose body was found Wednesday afternoon at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort.
Hancock County Sheriff Mike White said patrons notified casino security of a woman who appeared to be asleep in the backseat of a car in the facility's main parking lot. Security officers found the woman unresponsive and called paramedics to the scene. She was pronounced dead a short time later, White said.
"We don't have a whole lot right now," White said. "At this point, there are no signs of foul play."
Officials are withholding the deceased's name, pending notification of family members, White added.
According to White, the vehicle was a white Chevrolet Beretta with Ohio license plates. He believes the woman was in her 60s.
White said the parking lot is being treated as a crime scene, which is standard procedure in such situations. He noted the body will undergo an autopsy in Charleston to determine a cause of death, though he was unsure when the autopsy would take place.
Tamara Pettit, spokeswoman for Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort, declined Wednesday to comment on the death.
"We're referring everything to the Hancock County Sheriff's Department," she said.
