A former Miss North Dakota-USA was found dead Tuesday in a Minneapolis home.

Investigators are waiting for the Hennepin County medical examiner to determine the cause of Samantha M. Edwards' death, said Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder.

Police were called about 7:30 a.m. to a house in the 1700 block of Upton Avenue N., where they found Edwards' body.

Edwards, 37, known as "Sami" by her friends, was Miss North Dakota-USA in 2003.

She "was one of the most vibrant, crazy, compassionate, loyal balls of energy you could ever come across in life," Jessica Dereschuk said on a GoFundMe page started to help pay for funeral expenses and other costs. "A conversation with her could either leave you full of adrenaline or utterly exhausted. She was a spitfire, and with Sami, you never knew what she'd throw your way — but you ALWAYS knew she would be there for you. She was awesome like that."

Dereschuk started the GoFundMe page, which has raised around $19,000.

Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788