GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. -- The Guilford County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a former inmate, which happened shortly after her release from the High Point Detention Center.
According to a release from Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes, the cause of death is not believed to be suspicious but, rather, due to medical reasons.
The release says Meredith Margaret Woodell, 35, of Climax, was booked into the Guilford County High Point Detention Center on October 10 following her arrest for failure to appear in court. She was held on a $20,000 secured bond.
The sheriff's office says on October 21 around 1:30 p.m., while making routine security rounds at the jail, officers noticed that Ms. Woodell appeared to be in distress and called for medical help. They say Ms. Woodell was briefly treated by jail medical staff on-scene. Guilford County EMS was contacted soon thereafter and Ms. Woodell was transported to High Point Regional Hospital around 2:30 p.m.
The sheriff's office says Ms. Woodell was released from custody at 12 p.m. on October 22 after the dismissal of her pending charges by the District Attorney's Office at the request of the Sheriff's Office. She was pronounced dead at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center about six hours later.
Sheriff Barnes and other detention staff members have been in contact with Ms. Woodell's family.
Investigators have requested an autopsy from the state.
Sheriff Barnes says the investigation is standard for all inmate deaths.
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