LEWISTON — Authorities are investigating the cause of the death of a woman found Monday in bed at a residence on Hallowell Road in Durham.

Rescue crews were called to the home to attend to a 63-year-old man who was recovering from heart surgery who had been complaining of chest pain, Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson said. When paramedics arrived at the scene, they discovered the deceased woman, 47, and called law enforcement.

The woman, who is from Whitefield, was a friend who had been visiting the man, Samson said.

The unattended death did not appear to be suspicious, according to Samson, who said there were no obvious signs of why the woman died. All unattended deaths must be investigated.

A detective from the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department was on the scene Monday afternoon, investigating the death.

The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit was called to the scene later in the afternoon on Monday along with an investigator with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

No warrant was needed for investigators to enter the man’s home, Samson said. But investigators from the state unit are expected to seek a warrant to search the home later Monday, Samson said.

A funeral home was expected to remove the woman’s body Monday evening and take it to Augusta to the medical examiner’s office, where an autopsy is expected to be conducted, Samson said.

cwilliams@sunmediagroup.net