Woman found dead in burning home

Firefighters found the body of a Shoreview woman in her burning home Monday morning. Authorities say they don't know whether the suburban Twin Cities woman died before the fire broke out in the single-family home.

The Ramsey County Sheriff's office identified the woman as Nancy Ann Swanson, 60. The sheriff's office said she was the only person living in the house.

The Ramsey County medical examiner's office is performing an autopsy, and investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.

But the sheriff's office says it does not suspect foul play and the cause of the fire appears to be accidental.

Clutter in the home made things difficult for firefighters, according to Randy Gustafson, a spokesman for the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.

"Firefighters needed to kind of work through what appeared to be a hoarding situation of a lot of property and items in the home, that made getting into and around inside very difficult for them," said Gustafson. "Also, it gave them a harder time to determine if they had gotten all of the fire extinguished."