Richfield nursing home resident, 75, found dead in snow in frigid weather outside facility
A 75-year-old woman found dead in the snow early Tuesday morning outside a Richfield nursing home likely died of hypothermia, the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office said.
The woman was found unresponsive outside The Renaissance nursing home, 3975 Everett Road, after 5:45 a.m. Tuesday by facility staff, according to the medical examiner's office. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:15 a.m.
Nursing home staff told investigators the woman, who was in the nursing home's memory care unit, was last seen in her room between 1:30 and 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Staff noted about 5:45 a.m. the woman was not in her room, searched the premises and found her outside shortly after that, the medical examiner's office said.
The temperature at that time would have been in the low 20s, with possible light snow falling, according to the National Weather Service.
The incident is being looked at as a possible hypothermia death, the medical examiner's office said.
Richfield police are working closely with the Ohio Department of Health on the investigation into death, the department said in a news release.
Richfield police officers and EMTs from the Richfield Fire Department responded to an emergency call from a Renaissance staff member who found the woman outdoors on the ground, the department said in the news release.
"Our sincerest sympathies go out to (the woman's) family and loved ones after this tragic incident," Richfield Police Chief Michael Swanson said. "Given that this is an active investigation, we’ll have no comment beyond this statement and the incident report."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Woman, 75, found dead outside Richfield nursing home where she lived
