Sheriff: Prince found unresponsive in elevator, CPR failed

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prince was unresponsive in an elevator when the musician was found by sheriff's deputies who had been called to his suburban Minneapolis compound, a Minnesota sheriff said Thursday.

Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson said deputies responded to a medical call about 9:43 a.m. Medical personnel tried CPR, but couldn't revive the 57-year-old Prince, who was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m.

Following news reports that he had fallen ill while returning from Atlanta to Minneapolis, Prince hosted a dance party on April 16 at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota.

Jeremiah Freed, who runs the website drfunkenberry.com and has gotten to know Prince after writing about his events over the years, said he last saw Prince at the dance party.

Freed said the artist showed off a new purple piano he received as a gift, as well as a purple guitar, but seemed upset about the reports of an illness.