Female jail inmate dies in Mendocino County cell

A Mendocino County jail inmate was found dead in her cell early Friday morning, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reported.

The 59-year-old woman’s name is being withheld pending notification of her family, sheriff’s officials said.

No evidence of foul play was found, officials said.

Staff found the woman unresponsive in her cell at the Ukiah jail during a routine walk-through at about 1:27 a.m., officials said. Corrections and medical staff determined she was not breathing and had no pulse. They started life-saving measures, which were taken over by emergency responders when they arrived, officials said. The woman was pronounced dead at 2 a.m.

The inmate had last been seen 40 minutes earlier, when she was observed sleeping, officials said. She was alone in the cell, located in a 19-person housing unit, officials said.

The woman had been in custody since April 4, when she was jailed on a charge of possession of a controlled substance for sale, officials said.

The death is under investigation and an autopsy is underway, sheriff’s officials said.

The last death reported in the jail was a suicide by hanging in October 2014.