Eden Valley Woman Dies After Bonfire Accident

EDEN VALLEY -- An Eden Valley woman is dead after her boyfriend discovered her body in a backyard fire pit.

Stearns County sheriff's deputies were called to the home in the 500 block of Stearns Avenue West at about 1:20 this morning. Officers found 57-year-old Bonita Schwandt dead at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing, but police believe Schwandt was sitting alone by the fire when she fell in and died.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy and toxicology tests, but the sheriff's office believe alcohol was most likely a contributing factor in her death.