Woman Found Fatally Entangled In O'Hare Airport's Baggage Machinery Died By Suicide: Medical Examiner
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office concluded that the woman found dead at an Illinois airport died by suicide.
The woman, later identified as Virginia Vinton, was found entangled at Chicago O'Hare International Airport's baggage conveyor belt last week, according to 'CNN.' The 57-year-old woman's autopsy revealed she died by asphyxiation from hanging. No foul play was suspected.
Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) confirmed she was not an airport employee.
On Thursday, firefighters responded to a 911 call that a female body was caught in the belt that morning. Vinton was found near the international flights terminal.
Surveillance footage shows the Waxhaw, North Carolina, native entering the area around 2:27 a.m., but what happened next remains a mystery, according to authorities. The woman was reportedly seen trying to enter restricted areas of the airport ahead of the incident before she was found "pinned."
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 'Chicago Sun-Times' source said authorities "are not sure what her motive was. She was trying to get to the secure side of the airport," per 'Fox News.'
Fire officials told 'WGN-News' they believed the incident was an industrial accident because that area was inaccessible to the public.
