A woman was found hanged in a stairwell at the National Science Foundation complex in Ballston, in what police said was an apparent suicide. Police received a report that an adult woman had hanged herself in a stairwell at the foundation on Jan. 14, said Detective Crystal Nosal, an Arlington County police spokeswoman.
The woman was not an NSF employee or contractor and was not found in the main NSF offices, authorities said. She was found in a publicly accessible area of the building, located at 4201 Wilson Blvd., that also contains commercial businesses.
The main NSF section of the building requires a foundation security badge to enter, spokeswoman Lily Whiteman said. But a badge is not needed to enter the area where the incident occurred.
NSF officials searched all records of employees and contractors and determined that the woman never worked for or with NSF, Whiteman said.
“There were not any business relations between NSF and that person,” she said.
There are no indications that the death was anything but a suicide, authorities said. NSF employees were informed about the incident the morning that it occurred, though officials stressed that the building was secure and that workers were not in danger.
Police and NSF officials declined to identify the woman. She was an adult, Nosal said.
The woman’s body was reported to the police early last Friday morning, Nosal said. She said she didn’t know who found the woman and called police.
Whiteman said someone found the body in a stairwell of the complex’s Stafford I building. Some of that building is only accessible to staff and authorized visitors, Whiteman said. The public area of the building near where the body was found houses a bank, restaurants, dry cleaning business and other establishments, she said. A shopping mall is also across the street.
Whiteman referred further questions about the woman to police, and Nosal said she didn’t know whether the woman was connected to any of the nearby businesses.
