Frozen victim may have torn off clothes in 'confusion' of hypothermia

Elizabeth Hill, nee Wardropper, 33, was discovered alive by an organist at St John's Church in Carluke, Lanarkshire, on Sunday morning.

She was partially clothed in freezing conditions and was taken to Wishaw General Hospital, but she died a short time later.

It is understood she had suffered hypothermia.

Strathclyde Police are investigating, but said yesterday her death was not suspicious, following a post-mortem examination.

Fiona Hobson, the organist who found her and a former part-time firefighter, took the woman inside the church and called an ambulance, then attempted to resuscitate her.

She said: "I gave her a quick check to see she was alive, then phoned the ambulance, who said they were on their way.

"I stopped a man in the street, who helped me drag her into the church where I did the best I could to look after her until the ambulance arrived."

She added: "My initial reaction was shock and confusion. I thought at first she was a jogger because of what she was wearing, but it became very clear very quickly that she wasn't, and she was really in quite a bad way.

"Obviously, with wearing so little clothes she was extremely cold.

"I think because I've had quite a lot of emergency services experience in the past, it was not such a shock to me as it might have been to someone else, which is very fortunate as I could do the very best I could for her."

Although Ms Hill had collapsed in the middle of a path next to a busy junction, passing motorists would have been unable to see her body as it was obscured by a 4ft beech hedge.

It was not known why Ms Hill had removed her clothing, although police sources indicated that one of the symptoms of advancing hypothermia was to feel warm, together with severe mental confusion.

the Rev Roy Cowieson, the minister for St John's, said yesterday: "When we heard that the lady had died, we were extremely sorry that something like that would happen in Carluke and outside the church. This is the sort of community where lots of people are related to one another or regularly play a part in the lives of others, so it will have an impact."

The church cancelled its 11am service on Sunday because of the tragedy.

It is thought that Ms Hill had been drinking with her boyfriend in the Gallery, known locally as the Caledonian, in Kirkton Street, on Saturday night.

Police have taken away CCTV footage.

Regulars at the pub declined to comment on the death of the woman yesterday, but it is understood that Ms Hill and her boyfriend had left the venue in good spirits

Friends and neighbours of Ms Hill's family said that they were trying to come to terms with what had happened and were too upset to comment.

South Lanarkshire councillor Eileen Logan, who lives in Carluke, which is still heavily snow-bound, said: "Obviously the community is quite shocked and saddened."

Series of conditions, left untreated, that lead to death

HYPOTHERMIA is a condition where the body temperature of an organism falls below that required for it to function normally.

In warm-blooded creatures, the core body temperature is maintained near a constant level. However, when the body is exposed to extreme cold, a series of conditions develop, which if allowed to continue unaltered, result in death.

Hypothermia begins when the body's core temperature falls below 35C.

Early symptoms include uncontrollable shivering and numbing of the hands. Nausea and tiredness also develop.

As they head towards the second stage, sufferers will start to experience a warm sensation, as if they have recovered, and their muscle control deteriorates. They might also start to have trouble seeing.

In the second phase, muscle co-ordination becomes muddled and the shivering becomes more violent.

In the final stage of hypothermia, the shivering usually stops and mental confusion develops. The sufferer's pulse and respiration rates drop, and major organ failure follows, bringing death.