Brooke Baures (PHOTO: The Look Photography-Bloomer, WI)

Brooke Baures (PHOTO: The Look Photography-Bloomer, WI)

A young woman found dead in a food elevator at a western Wisconsin restaurant is identified as 21-year-old Brooke Baures of Chetek.

Baures was a senior at Winona State University.  Authorities said Baures — an employee at the establishment — was found dead Monday night in a dumbwaiter next to the kitchen at the WingDam Saloon & Grill in Fountain City, on the Minnesota border.

An autopsy is scheduled and the death remains under investigation.

Baures majored in social work, and was on the Winona State gymnastics team the past four years.  School athletic director Erich Schoh said Baures was a leader on the team, and a very talented gymnast.  He called it a “tremendous loss” for the campus.

There was no early indication of a crime, but officials are still investigating.

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