Woman found dead likely had medical episode

WEST VALLEY CITY — A preliminary autopsy showed existing medical conditions may have contributed to the death of a 73-year-old woman found dead in a backyard pond.

The body of Dorothy Gifford was found Sunday about 8:45 p.m. in the shallow pond. Investigators believe she may have been cleaning the pond or the area around the pond when she suffered a medical episode and fell in, said West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan.

A preliminary autopsy report from the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office did not list her cause of death as drowning, he said. More test results were expected later, McLachlan said.

Police weren't able to immediately verify that Gifford's husband, who was in Idaho at the time, had been notified of his wife's death, which is why her name wasn't released until Tuesday, he said.

The death was not considered suspicious.

— Pat Reavy