Her body was found 28 feet from the base of the tower Jan. 9. An autopsy revealed that Cotter died of blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen.

Chesterton police Lt. Dave Cincoski said police have established that Cotter was alone at the time of her death, eliminating any possibility that she was pushed or forced to jump from the tower.

Cincoski said his department suspended the criminal investigation to express its agreement with Deppe’s findings.

“We don’t believe anything else will be discovered about how she died or what caused her to die,” Cincoski said.

Cotter’s family did not return calls made Sunday by The State News.

Jessica Hummel, a friend and roommate of Cotter, said the case deserves further investigation.

“I feel like the cops just wanted to get an answer because they weren’t finding anything,” Hummel said.

Hummel said Cotter was “going through something” and had been spending more time alone in her room before her death, but believes Cotter would have confided in someone if she was seriously troubled.

Physical evidence and interviews with friends and family influenced Deppe’s ruling.

“We’ve painstakingly looked at all the evidence, and what we’ve come up with is Rylan did jump,” Deppe said.

A toxicology test revealed that Cotter had nonlethal doses of over-the-counter drugs in her system.

Cincoski said police are awaiting the results of additional tests, but those results will not affect Deppe’s conclusion that the death was a suicide. Cincoski didn’t disclose the nature of the additional tests.

The results might suggest a criminal aspect to the case, but they most likely won’t influence the coroner’s ruling, Cincoski said.

Hummel said certain details of the case, such as Cotter’s distance from the electrical tower when she was discovered and the fact that she had no known connections in Chesterton, lead her to doubt the coroner’s findings.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” she said. “When I put it together in my head, it does not equal suicide to me.”

Deppe said police haven’t uncovered a reason why Cotter would commit suicide.

“Rylan, from all the investigation, had not made suicide comments, had not attempted suicide before,” Deppe said. “What made her do it that day, I don’t know.”