BONDURANT, Iowa — Authorities in Polk County says the death of a woman found outside of an assisted living facility in Bondurant “suspicious.” KCCI in Des Moines reports that at around 6:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 21st Polk County deputies responded to a call for medical assistance. A woman staying at the Courtyard Estates at Hawthorne Crossing, an assisted living facility for people with dementia in Bondurant was found outside. The low temperature that morning was -9 degrees.

The woman was conscious and being treated inside the facility by the time deputies arrive, but she later died at the hospital. The official cause of death has not been released. The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals told the television station that assisted living programs for people with dementia are required to have an operating alarm system on each exit door.

According to reports from the Iowa DIA, Courtyard Estates at Hawthorne Crossing was fined $1,500 in summer 2020 for not having a policy or procedure for their alarm system. The report filed back then shows somebody on staff noticed a resident was missing. The man was returned by police and he showed the nurse how he exited the door and climbed over a secure fence. The facility was later found to be compliant in a 2021 report.

Monday afternoon, the DIA was at the facility in Bondurant conducting an investigation. Officials say Courtyard Estates at Hawthorne Crossing is cooperating with the investigation.