JAMESTOWN — A death that drew state and local police to a quiet neighborhood was determined yesterday to be accidental based on an autopsy by the state medical examiner, the police said.

Daniel F. Donahue, 65, a retired Cranston schoolteacher, was found dead Tuesday morning after the police, responding to a call from one of Donahue’s friends, went to check on him.

Police Chief Thomas Tighe said he asked the state police to assist after the officer who went to check on Donahue saw him through a window, lying on the basement floor of his house at 96 Reservoir Circle.

“Just because he lived alone, a dead body, I had asked the state police to come in, just because they have more resources than we do,” Tighe said.

Tighe did not explain what caused the death but said there is no reason for neighbors on Reservoir Circle to be worried.

“There were no signs of forced entry” or anything suspicious, he said.

Friends and neighbors described Donahue as a bright, articulate, fun-loving man who enjoyed jogging, running and getting together with friends. He had lived in the neighborhood for about 20 years, a neighbor said.