UPDATE: Cause of death identified for woman found in Ocean City

The Ocean City Police Department says that they have been given the official cause of death in the case of a Texas woman found on Monday.

The victim, 30-year-old Ashley O'Connor of Plano, Texas, was found on the beach in the early morning hours in the area of Second Street.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the death to be accidental caused by asphyxia due to suffocation. Investigators say that O'Connor walked into the beach alone at 2:00 a.m. and was later found in a hole covered by sand. It has not yet been determined at this time if O'Connor fell into the hole or climbed in.

A portion of the beach was closed on Monday as the Ocean City Police Forensic Services Unit worked to recover the body from the sand with help from Maryland State Police crime scene technicians.

The body was removed at 4:15 PM and the beach was open to the public at 5:00 PM. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Ocean City Police Department Major Crimes Unit at 410-723-6604.