by Dennis Dalman
The cause of the gunshot death of a woman in a mobile home south of Rice is still unknown because the death is still under investigation, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Department.
The victim of the shooting, Tammra Baker, 44, lived at Lot 117 on the northeast side of Rockwood Estates Mobile-Home Park, which is about two miles south of Rice just east of Hwy. 10.
At about 1 p.m. Oct. 14, the Benton County Sheriff’s Department received a call reporting a woman had been wounded by a gunshot. Deputies, police officers, the Rice Fire Department First Responders’ unit and paramedics responded to the call where the woman, later determined to be Baker, died at the scene.
Deputies taped off the area and turned back people from the scene so an on-site investigation could begin. As of press time Oct. 21, the investigation is still continuing. An autopsy was conducted, but its results are still pending, said Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck.
At the time the death was discovered, the sheriff’s department put out a press release stating “The information received at this point indicates there is no danger to the general public.”
In a subsequent press release, Oct. 16, Sheriff Heck released the name and age of the victim with a notification that the investigation is continuing.
Assisting in the investigation, besides the sheriff’s department, is the Rice Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.