Police in Laramie say University of Wyoming associate professor Margaret Zamudio (pictured on left) was found Saturday in a snowdrift outside her home in Laramie.   Investigators believe she may have slipped and hit her head and that blowing snow immediately covered her body. Zamudio was 45 and a professor in the sociology department.

Zamudio was found wearing a coat and boots.

UW President Tom Buchanan told the Associated Press the university community is saddened by Zamudio’s death and will miss her and her contributions to the university.