More specific details have surfaced in the death of a Wisconsin college gymnast, who was found lifeless inside the dumbwaiter of the restaurant where she worked Monday night, the Daily News reported on Friday.
Brooke Baures, 21, may have pushed the button to call the dumbwaiter elevator down and reached in to grab something at the last minute at the WingDam Saloon & Grill.
She was found struck inside the whole device, Fountain City Police Chief Jason Mork said.
"To explain more of her specific location, orientation or obvious injuries would require an extremely graphic explanation," he said.
Bauers, who was a senior at Winona State University, was found by a coworker, who frantically called 911. The co-worker hung up without talking to an operator the first time, but answered when the operator called her back.
"I think one of my co-workers got (caught) in our dumbwaiter," the employee said in a recording. "But I'm not willing to look close enough."
After another coworker looked, the caller told the operator, "It's her. We need someone here ASAP."
There seems to be no witnesses to her death. Police interviewed dozens of people at the restaurant and no one saw her get into the 3x3 machine, though they are still confident no crime has been committed, according to the Daily Mail. Entering the food elevator was not something employees usually did, Mork said.
A dumbwaiter is used to move food and drinks between floors of restaurants.
Baures was an accomplished athlete and member of the gymnastics team from 2011 to 2014.
"She was a leader on the team and a talented gymnast," said WSU athletic director Eric Schoh in a statement. "This is a tremendous loss for our community, and we ask that you keep Brooke and her family, friends, coaches and teammates in your thoughts."
