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Authorities rule no foul play in death of woman found in the Bear River last year

(Photo courtesy of GoFundMe) Nicole Barlow, 26, was found dead in June 2016 in the Bear River near Corinne.

The death of a woman whose body was found last summer in the Bear River has been ruled an accident, authorities announced Friday.

Utah’s State Medical Examiner said 26-year-old Nicole Barlow drowned in the river because of acute morphine and methamphetamine toxicity, Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Dale Ward said in a news release.

An autopsy found no evidence of trauma, the release states.

A fisherman found Barlow, of Brigham City, floating in the Bear River about a quarter-mile north of the Corinne boat ramp about 8:45 p.m. on June 25, 2016.

Investigators initially deemed Barlow’s death “suspicious.” That changed after detectives conducted a yearlong, multi-state investigation to track down sources and leads, in addition to the medical examiner’s ruling, Ward said.

The toxicology report also detected alcohol and amphetamine in Barlow’s system.