LUVERNE (AP) - A preliminary autopsy has found that a 53-year-old rural Steele County woman found dead in a ravine died of drowning.
KVLY television reports that Rhonda Gjesdal of rural Luverne was found Saturday in one to two feet of water about 200 yards from her farmstead.
Sheriff Wayne Beckman says Gjesdal left her farmstead Thursday en route to Wahpeton. Her car was found Saturday at the bottom of a ravine about a mile from her farmstead.
Beckman says it appears she went into the ditch Thursday night and walked the ravine area for quite some time. He says it was very muddy at the bottom of the ravine and she may have been exhausted from her walk.
He says the preliminary autopsy shows no signs of foul play.