2nd man dies from hypothermia, police say


4 photos
Save Story

Show 2 more videos

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Police say a man whose body was found in Memory Grove died of hypothermia.

Reed Brock Karren, 39, was found dead by someone who was walking a dog in Memory Grove Park, 300 N. Canyon Road (130 East), about 5:20 p.m. Monday. Investigators originally said they believed Karren may have been dead for several hours before his body was discovered.

Salt Lake City police detective Rick Wall said Karren was not properly dressed for any kind of extended walk or hike in Memory Grove, and he was not homeless.

"He had some jogging pants on — probably not dressed for this type of weather," said Detective Cody Lougy.

Police, however, could not say Wednesday why Karren was out in the bitter cold temperatures unprepared or what he was doing in the park. Police also did not know when he may have died.

Utah court records show Karren had a long history of arrests and convictions in various cases for charges such as intoxication, theft and drug-related crimes. It was unknown if drugs or alcohol played a factor in Karren's death.

Another man was found dead near a Zions Bank parking lot in South Salt Lake City Wednesday afternoon. South Salt Lake police officer Gary Keller said they believe frigid overnight temperatures are to blame for his death as well.

The 22-year-old man was seen by witnesses between 5 and 6 p.m. and appeared to be intoxicated. Toxicology reports have not confirmed if that was the case.

The man was found Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. near a retaining wall just outside the parking lot of the Zions Bank at 3838 S. 700 East. Keller said police aren't sure how the man came to be at that location.

Keller said the man was wearing a parka and thermals, but that the winter clothes were no match for the cold temperatures.

Police said the man was not considered to be homeless and are they are still working to notify family before releasing a name.

Also, the death of another man found in a car Monday was still under investigation. The man was found in a running vehicle at a salvage yard where he worked. Police believe he may have been living in the car but aren't sure how he died.

Paramedic Jared Schriner said the harsh winter has resulted in more cold-related emergencies.

"We have in the last seven days or so been on a couple individuals that have been severely hypothermic which we were able to get them to the hospital and they were treated and released," Schriner said.

Schriner said many of his patients have been homeless. The Road Home reported with the recent cold snap, more people have been trying to get out of the cold. More than 1,000 people stayed in the Road Home's three shelters Tuesday night.

Contributing: Sandra Yi

Photos

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Pat Reavy and Robynn Garfield

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast