A 93-year-old woman died shortly after being found outside of a health care center in frigid temperatures on Sunday morning, police said.
According to a preliminary report from the Windsor Locks Police Department, staff from Bickford’s Health Care Center in Windsor Locks discovered the woman was not in her bed at 4:45 a.m. and didn’t know where she went.
According to the report, police said the woman was “known to wander at times due to her mental status and was “equipped with an alert device designed to activate when she exits a facility doorway without authorization or supervision.” Authorities are investigating whether the device did or did not work properly.
The woman was eventually found “outside the premises where the resident was found lying on a snow-covered area just south of Bickford’s,” according to police.
Police said the woman was unresponsive, but that the staff claimed she had a pulse at the time. The woman was placed in a wheelchair and moved back into the facility, where treatment began.
Police and EMS were called at 6:23 a.m. Police said the woman “succumbed to her condition and was pronounced deceased at 6:46 a.m. by on-scene paramedics. She was not identified by police.
“Due to various factors present, (age, extreme cold weather, and overall medical health condition), the cause of death is currently undetermined,” the preliminary report stated. “Medical Examiner arrived and took custody of the deceased for further examination. WLPD detectives are on-scene and the investigation is underway.”
The Windsor Locks Police Department reminds the public the report is preliminary and the department “will obtain and verify all available information as facts may change from this early phase of the investigation.”
A message seeking comment was let at Bickford’s Health Care Center.
Police said the woman’s family has been notified and the state of Connecticut agencies related to health care facility operations will be notified.