- A woman was found dead in a bathroom stall at her 24-hour gym in Chicago
- Patricia Austin, 78, was unresponsive by the time paramedics arrived and had likely been dead for two days
- Her membership card showed that she had entered the club at around 7pm on July 12 – her body was found on July 14
A woman from Chicago was found dead at her gym two days after she entered the health club for a workout.
Patricia Austin, 78, was found in a bathroom stall just before 8pm on July 14 at Lifetime Fitness, said Marc Loftus, Burr Ridge deputy police chief.
Her membership card showed that she had entered the club two days earlier at around 7pm, on July 12.
Patricia Austin, 78, was found in a bathroom stall just before 8pm on July 14 at Lifetime Fitness, pictured, in Burr Ridge, Chicago
Gym officials looked at surveillance video to see Austin entering the club but she was never seen leaving, while her car stayed in the parking lot the entire time.
It was only when another woman working out at the club used the bathroom and noticed feet peeking out from under one of the stalls that Austin was found.
According to the Chicago Tribune upon returning to the bathroom after her workout she noticed the feet were still there and raised the alarm.
Staff at the gym crawled into the toilet cubicle and found Austin unresponsive. It appeared that she had been dead for days.
Austin was pronounced dead at the scene. After an autopsy, the Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled Austin died of natural causes, specifically atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, according to a medical examiner spokeswoman.
The gym explained the fact the toilet stall was not checked sooner because it was thought to be out of order.
Staff also said that because the club was 24-hour, it was not uncommon for a stall to be in use while staff were cleaning.