Update: Alaska State Troopers say a 74-year-old woman found dead Sunday outside her home in the Settlers Bay area died of natural causes, not as the result of a moose attack as initially suspected.
Original story
WASILLA — A 74-year-old woman died Sunday in the Settlers Bay area, and her death appears to be the result of a fatal moose attack, Alaska State Troopers said.
Troopers identified the woman as Pattie Cucinello. Her next-of-kin have been notified, they said. No foul play is suspected in her death.
Few details were available Monday. Troopers responded just after 3:15 p.m. to a report of a dead person on South Timberview Drive outside Wasilla, according to an online dispatch. Cucinello was found in her driveway, the dispatch says.
Her death "appears to be a fatal moose attack," but troopers are waiting on autopsy results from the State Medical Examiner Office for confirmation, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said in an email Monday morning.
Troopers found moose tracks at the scene, Peters said, but she couldn't provide any additional information as to why troopers suspect a moose attack caused Cucinello's death. Efforts to reach family and friends of Cucinello were unsuccessful Monday.
Cucinello's tidy gray house on Timberview Drive was quiet Monday; an SUV with a large American flag decal sat in the driveway. A birch forest surrounds the neighborhood, which is located on a gravel road near the Settlers Bay subdivision.