88-year-old woman freezes to death outside retirement home

LONGVIEW -- Police are investigating why an 88-year-old woman froze to death outside of her retirement home late Thursday night or early Friday morning, The Longview Daily News reports.

According to the Daily News, Norma Jeannette Sheldon was found by retirement home staff around 1:18 a.m. outside of her adult family living apartment in the 1400 block of Third Avenue in Cowlitz County.

An autopsy performed over the weekend determined her death was due to hypothermia, the newspaper reported. Cowlitz County Chief Deputy Coroner Brett Dundas said there was no sign that Sheldon fell or suffered some other physical ailment that lead to her death.

The temperature was 28 degrees with a 59 percent humidity when Sheldon was found, the Daily News reported.

Police are investigating why Sheldon was outside, but do believe her death was accidental.