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The homeless man was found in this culvert.

Dead Man May Be Victim Of 'Paradoxical Undressing'

Authorities Believe Homeless Man Froze To Death

POSTED: 12:00 pm MST December 7, 2005
UPDATED: 12:54 pm MST December 7, 2005

Denver coroner's officials say a man found dead next to a chain-link fence may have been a victim of "paradoxical undressing," a sometimes-fatal symptom of hypothermia.

Denver police found the homeless man Tuesday after a cold front brought bitterly cold arctic air to Colorado.

The man apparently shed his jacket as the low hit zero degrees. Denver deputy coroner Amy Martin said some victims of hypothermia can become disoriented, hallucinate and undress. Authorities are trying to determine whether the man froze to death.

Temperatures along the Front Range dipped to single digits late Tuesday night, with Denver reaching zero degrees and Fort Collins and Colorado Springs hitting one and two degrees, respectively.

Because of the dangerously cold temperatures, the Denver Rescue Mission was overflowing with people Wednesday morning. All 275 beds filled up early Tuesday night and that meant the Rescue Mission had to find places for people in hallways and lobbies. No one was turned away. A little church helped out by taking in 20 people.

Normally the Denver Rescue Mission will be closed as day-shelter from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with normal lunch at noon but because the homeless have no where else to go during the day and the St. Francis Center is currently packed, the Mission will remain open, said spokeswoman Greta Richey.

"We will most likely stay open all day again tomorrow if St. Francis is in the same situation," said Richey.


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