KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:
We are still waiting on the details of how Prince died yesterday. In Minnesota, a medical examiner has done an autopsy, but it could be days or weeks before the results are released. Earlier today, the Carver County sheriff, Jim Olson, shared the latest information with reporters. And Tim Nelson of Minnesota Public Radio was there, and he's with us now. Tim, welcome to the show.
TIM NELSON, BYLINE: Thank you.
MCEVERS: What if - what did Sheriff Olson have to say?
NELSON: Well, you know, this investigation is only about 30 hours old, so he didn't have a lot of details. Now, he did say there were no signs of trauma or violence when the paramedics found Prince yesterday and no signs of suicide. The sheriff described him. He said he was dressed and laying in an elevator when they found him alone at his studio in Chanhassen. There were a couple other small details. The sheriff said they didn't use Narcan, which is commonly used to counteract overdoses. But that doesn't mean anything necessarily, just that they chose not to use it at that time.
MCEVERS: OK, so it sounds like not a whole lot of details. What other details are you finding out today as you try to piece this together?
NELSON: Well, I'll go back a little bit. They started - this started at quarter-to-10 yesterday morning when someone called and said they needed help at Prince's studio. The authorities rushed there, found him unresponsive and tried CPR for nearly 20 minutes before they pronounced him dead. And we learned a key fact this afternoon - that Prince was dropped off at Paisley Park about 8 o'clock Wednesday night, and that's the last he was seen alive. He was found when his staff couldn't reach him. So it really isn't clear at this point when Prince actually died. There's 13 hours there that no one saw him.
MCEVERS: Your station, Minnesota Public Radio, has reported that Prince might have had medical problems in recent days leading up to his death. Tell us about that.
NELSON: Well, according to media reports, Prince was down at a show in Atlanta and was flying back to Minneapolis last week when he made an unscheduled stop in the Quad Cities.
MCEVERS: And that's in Illinois, right?
NELSON: Yes, in Illinois. At least, a plane believed to be carrying him stopped there. And we talked to a spokesperson for the airport there, who said that the plane reported finding - having someone unresponsive on board. And that may be familiar - that's a familiar term. That's what the Carver County authorities said they found when they went to Paisley Park looking for Prince yesterday. That's - that said, we have not been - we have not been able to confirm that that was Prince that they were talking about the time.
MCEVERS: On that plane?
NELSON: Right.
MCEVERS: When will we know more?
NELSON: Well, it's going to take quite a while. It's going to take them several days to gather medical history, talk to friends and people who had seen him. And they're also running a full toxicology screen. Now, that's just routine. That may rule in or rule out any substances in his body, but that takes quite a while. And it could be several weeks before the results of those are released.
MCEVERS: That's Tim Nelson of Minnesota Public Radio. Thank you very much.
NELSON: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
