SODA SPRINGS - Sheriff Ric Anderson said the official cause of death of a female inmate who died in the Caribou County Jail Tuesday was asphyxiation by hanging.

Anderson said Crystal Rhea Bannister, a Bear Lake County inmate being housed in the Caribou County Jail, died at about 8:30 p.m. just nine hours after she was booked into the jail on a charge of prescription drug fraud.

Bannister, 29, of Montpelier, is survived by three brothers and her parents. Anderson said at the family's request, she was cremated and no service is scheduled at this time.

The death has not yet been officially ruled a suicide and Anderson said an investigation by the Tri-Counties Sheriff Association is ongoing in the case.