Prince died alone at his home, it has been confirmed by police and was last seen alive on Wednesday night. Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson revealed at a press conference on Friday that the star had been dropped off at his Paisley Park compound at around 8pm the night before he was found unconscious in an elevator at the property and that - at this stage - they were unaware how long he had been dead before he was found.
As a "very private person" Sheriff Olson said it was "not unusual for him to be there [Paisley Park] by himself".
He said staff had attempted to contact the singer on Thursday morning and having failed became concerned for his welfare, they then searched the property and found him unconscious in an elevator on the first floor.
After emergency services arrived CPR was started but, he was pronounced dead at 10:07am - some 14 hours later. In an emotional press conference held 29 hours after the discovery of the star, the Sheriff began by reminded the world that while they had lost s "celebrity", the people of the close knit-community had lost a "good neighbour" and his family a "beloved one".
The Sheriff was unable to confirm how long he had been there, though said he was "fully clothed" in "pants and a shirt" - though was unable to identify if they were "sleeping clothes".
The star was last seen alive at 8pm on Wednesday night He also confirmed the elevator had no phone and that as Paisley Park had "long corridors" it wasn't unusual for the star to use the lift. While a cause of death was not given, Sheriff Olson said it was "not suicide" and there was "no reason to believe" he had taken his own life, though he said his officers have not ruled out foul play as a possible cause for the star's death.
"There were no obvious signs of trauma to the body that we observed," he said. "I don't know if anything otherwise will show in the autopsy report. But there were no obvious signs to suggest anything violent happened. There were no signs of that at all. "We have no reason to believe that this was suicice. But [foul play] is still under investigation."
Sheriff Olson, who was with Prince's body for a "period of time", went on to reveal that his department have four agencies working on the case - which is still just 29 hours old. Despite reports claiming the Prince's family were not co-operating in a bid to keep details surrounding the star's death private, Sheriff Olson assured that they had been.
"This all continues to be under investigation," he added. "We well do a complete invetsiagtion. But it is better for us to do it well rather than fast. We just want to do the best job we can."
Prince died on Thursday, aged 57. The cause of death is yet to be determined. An autopsy is currently being carried out but officials have advised that results may take weeks to come back.
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