San Diego

Police are investigating the death of 81-year-old Ruth M. Ost, whose nude body was found Wednesday morning in her ransacked downtown apartment, police said.

Ost, whos hands were tied behind her back, lived in the Cathedral Plaza at 1551 3rd Ave., and may have been in her apartment as long as one week before she was found, according to Lt. Phil Jarvis.

There were no signs of forcible entry and the exact cause of death was not known, Jarvis said.

Apartment employees found Ost’s body about 10:30 a.m., Jarvis said, after they had gotten a call from Ost’s daughter, who was worried because she hadn’t been able to contact her mother, Jarvis said.