An autopsy on Joni Allred, the woman found dead last weekend in the Animas River, was deemed inconclusive on Wednesday.
The 57-year-old woman’s body was found in the river on Sept. 7 behind the DoubleTree Hotel in Durango.
La Plata County Deputy Coroner Cathy Seibel, who helped conduct the autopsy, said Allred's organs appeared normal, though her body had minor scratches from coming in contact with rocks in the river.
However, the cause of death was inconclusive because of a foreign substance that was found in Allred’s stomach. Until death investigators know more about that substance, they cannot make a determination on Allred’s death.
Seibel described it as a “white chalky” substance that did not look like “normal gastric content.”
“We have no clue what it is. We are in the process of sending it off for testing,” Seibel said Thursday.
The deputy coroner declined to speculate as to the contents of the white chalky substance, but said it was enough to hold off on determining a cause of death to wait for the results of a toxicology report.
“When we get things that don’t look normal, we get nosy. We want to know what it is,” Seibel said.
The toxicology report will likely take anywhere from four to six weeks, she said.
La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith said the body had likely been floating in the river for about 12 hours based on its condition.
At 10:19 a.m. Sept. 7, Durango Police Department received a call notifying them of a body floating in the Animas River near the DoubleTree Hotel.
Police said they were notified by a rafting company that passed by the area. DPD Cmdr. Jacob Dunlop told The Durango Herald on Monday that Allred had been camping at the spot for at least one night before she died.
Police did not have any leads as to how she died but did not suspect foul play.
Attempts to reach the Durango Police Department for an update on Thursday were unsuccessful.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
