A 43-year-old woman has passed away from suspected hypothermia after allegedly going outside to walk her dog in her pajamas and falling.
On Sunday (January 19), authorities were called to a home in Willard, Ohio at around 11.00am.
They found a woman – since identified by authorities as Eugenia Michele Wadman – passed away outside her home on Hanville Corners Road.
A preliminary investigation into her death revealed she went outside to walk her dog wearing ‘light pajamas’.
Police said it appeared she’d ‘fallen over’ and ‘sustained injuries’ which made it hard for her to get up again, evidence reported of her ‘struggling and crawling’ in a yard ‘covered’ in snow and ice.
Her death is not reported as suspicious, instead suspected as being from hypothermia – however, an autopsy is still set to take place and the investigation remains ongoing.
UNILAD has contacted Huron County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
And it isn’t the only tragic death as a result of suspected hypothermia which has taken place in Ohio.
Three other people are thought to have died as a result of suspected hypothermia, WCPO reports.
Earlier this month, a man in Norwood, Ohio passed away, alongside a 94-year-old woman from Franklin and an 83-year-old man in Cicinnati.
And Huron County Public Health took to Facebook on January 22 to raise awareness of the signs of ‘frostbite’ and ‘hypothermia’ and the differences in symptoms.
Warnings signs of hypothermia
It explains: “Redness or pain in any skin area may be the first sign of frostbite.
“Other signs include a white or grayish-yellow skin area, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy and numbness’.
Hypothermia signs and symptoms in adults include ‘shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech’ and ‘drowsiness’.
In infants, signs of hypothermia include ‘bright, red, cold skin’ and ‘very low energy’.
UC Medical Center emergency doctor Robert Thomas told WCPO: “If you’re having skin-like color changes – your skin is turning black, purple, blue and gray, that would also be a reason to seek medical attention. Or if you’re with someone that’s been out in the cold and they’re kind of more confused or sleepy than normal or they are complaining of a bad headache and that’s something atypical for them.”
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