ABC News August 9, 2024

Authorities identify woman found in Chicago O'Hare Airport conveyor belt

WATCH: Woman dies after getting caught in baggage carousel at Chicago O'Hare

The identity of a 57-year-old woman who was found dead at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Thursday has been released.

Virginia Christine Vinton, of Waxhaw, North Carolina, was found "entangled in the conveyor belt system," fire officials said.

Vinton's cause of death was ruled "asphyxiation by hanging," with authorities concluding she died by suicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to ABC-owned station WLS on Friday.

According to a spokesperson for the Department of Labor, she was a member of the public and not a worker at the airport.

Kiichiro Sato/AP, FILE
In this April 22, 2019, file photo, the O'Hare International Airport terminals are seen from the south air traffic control tower in Chicago.

Emergency responders were called to Terminal 5 at about 7:45 a.m. following reports of a woman "pinned in machinery," the Chicago Fire Department said.

MORE: 9 injured, hundreds evacuated in JFK airport escalator fire

Medics pronounced Vinton dead at the scene.

Police said surveillance footage of the area showed her "entering an unoccupied restricted area at 2:27 a.m."

ABC News' Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.