I’m a college student that did a ride-along with a patrol officer as part of my program today. Earlier today we got sent out to do a wellness check on an elderly woman. When we arrived, we found her dead outside in the backyard area of the house, partially hidden behind a corner near the gate. She was lying in a muddy pit—rain and snow had just started coming down, but she had clearly been there overnight.
She was 77 years old, and according to the family, her only known medical issue was high blood pressure. They maybe suspected early-onset dementia, but nothing had been diagnosed. So they say she was still mobile and coherent.
What was weird to me:
• She wasn’t wearing shoes, and they were found scattered nearby—not neatly taken off or anything.
• She had on a leopard print robe, but it wasn’t covering her—she was lying on it like it was a blanket.
• There was some sort of headwrap covering half her face.
• Firefighters said she’d probably been outside since at least the night before.
• Her body was discolored, and her eyes were puffy and red.
The whole thing just felt off. We don’t know how she died yet—maybe hypothermia? It was cold last night, but not brutally cold. Still, it didn’t seem like a clear-cut natural death.
What really surprised me was that ME refused to come out. Even the officer I was riding with thought that was strange. I understand not every unattended death gets a full investigation, but given how strange some of this looked, it feels like someone should’ve at least taken a closer look.
Just wanted to talk about it because it’s been sitting heavy with me. It was my first time seeing a dead body in person. I keep replaying the scene in my head and can’t help but feel like something about it doesn’t make sense.
Comments
Hi emerg nurse here who has seen a lot of stuff. The first time can be hard for A LOT of people. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone (friend, counsellor, anything offered through your school for debriefing or talk to an instructor) because it can help to process. If you’re getting into the medical or first responder field know that it does get easier as you become desensitized to these things but there are some that hit harder than others. As for the older woman, it isn’t uncommon for people who feel hypothermic to actually think they feel hot in the latest stages and take off clothing, even in very cold climates. So that could have been why her belongings were strung out that way. It doesn’t explain how she got there at all but I suppose we will never know…