WASHINGTON – The body of a woman employed by the carnival appearing at the Union Fair was discovered Sunday afternoon by a landowner on a dirt road off Route 17 in Knox County.

The unidentified woman is believed to have committed suicide with a handgun, sheriff’s Chief Deputy Todd Butler said Monday.

The state medical examiner will conduct an autopsy. A positive identification is pending the autopsy results.

It is not known how long the woman had been dead before being discovered in her black Isuzu Trooper by the landowner, Butler said. The Union Fair opened Sunday.

Sheriff’s Detective Ernest McIntosh and Deputy Patrick Fosnaught are investigating the suspected suicide.

According to the fair Web site, the midway is being operated by Rockwell Entertainment.