Dr Jacquelyn Kotarac apparently tried to enter her boyfriend's home by sliding down a chimney / AP Source: AP

Dr Jacquelyn Kotarac, 49, first tried to get into the house with a shovel, then climbed a ladder to the roof last Wednesday night, removed the chimney cap and slid feet first down the flue, Bakersfield police Sgt Mary DeGeare said.

While she was trying to break in, the man she was pursuing escaped unnoticed from another exit "to avoid a confrontation", authorities said.

Sgt DeGeare said the two were in an "on-again, off-again" relationship.

Her boyfriend who resides in the home is William Moodie, 58.

"She made an unbelievable error in judgment and nobody understands why, and unfortunately she's passed away," Mr Moodie said.

"She had her issues, she had her demons, but I never lost my respect for her."

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Reached by telephone, Mr Moodie did not dispute the police's characterisation of his relationship with Kotarac. He would not comment on the circumstances that led to her death, saying it was more important to focus on the good she did in life.

Mr Moodie, who runs an engineering consulting firm, said Kotarac was a superb internist who often provided service and medication free of charge to her patients.

Dr Kotarac apparently died in the chimney, but her body was not discovered until a house-sitter noticed a stench and fluids coming from the fireplace on Saturday, according to a police statement.

The house-sitter and her son investigated with a flashlight and found Kotarac dead, wedged about 0.61 metres above the top of the interior fireplace opening.

Firefighters spent five hours late on Saturday dismantling the chimney and flue from outside the home to extract Kotarac's body, Sgt DeGeare said.

Officials said Kotarac's office staff reported her missing two days prior when she failed to show for work. Her car and belongings remained near the man's house.

A cause of death has not been determined, and an autopsy was being undertaken. Foul play is not suspected, though investigators have been looking into the incident as suspicious.