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Buryatia Beauty Pageant Queen Found Dead

The Investigative Committee in Buryatia is conducting a check into the death of a 22-year-old beauty pageant queen found dead in Ulan-Ude, the committee's press office said Monday.

According to preliminary reports, the girl — the winner of the "Beauty of Buryatia 2008" contest and many other beauty pageants — was found by her father when he returned home on Friday.

Investigators said they found no physical damage to the girl's body and were unable to confirm the cause of her death. They said they would carry out a thorough exam to determine the cause of death, though the analysis is expected to take a month.

A representative of Buryatia's Investigative Committee said that the girl, identified as Viktoria Lygdenova, may have died from an illness.

"The main theory is death from a disease, but other theories will be checked," he told RIA-Novosti on Monday.

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