Austin Beutner's daughter found beside a highway in Palmdale the night she died

"A passerby alerted authorities to a woman in a "state of medical distress" shortly after midnight Jan. 6 near Sierra Highway and Technology Drive, said Lt. Michael Modica of the sheriff's homicide bureau. Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene to assist paramedics, who treated Emily Beutner, 22, at the scene, Modica said. He could not say how long Beutner had been by the road, which is surrounded by empty fields."

"Sheriff's homicide detectives have assumed control of the death investigation. Modica said this is typical when a young person is found in such a situation and should not be taken as an indication of the cause of death, which will be determined by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Jeff Millman, a spokesperson for Austin Beutner, declined to comment. Viridiana Aguilar, a spokesperson for the medical examiner, said earlier this month that her agency had not yet made a determination on the cause of death and had requested additional testing."

Emily Beutner, 22, was found by the side of a highway in Palmdale shortly after midnight on Jan. 6 after a passerby reported a woman in a "state of medical distress." Deputies and paramedics treated her at the scene and transported her to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Sheriff’s homicide detectives assumed control of the death investigation, and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner requested additional testing before determining cause and manner of death. Spokespeople for Austin Beutner and the medical examiner declined or withheld further comment. Beutner was a Loyola Marymount University student and the youngest of four children.

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