The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Sisters man dies from hypothermia in car

A Sisters man died of hypothermia while sleeping in his car over the weekend.

According to Deschutes County Sheriff's Office reports, a citizen called the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office on Saturday, December 17, at 3:30 p.m. to request a welfare check on a homeless person, who was living in a white station wagon on Rail Way near Arrowleaf Trail near McDonald's.

A deputy responded to the location and found Edward Carlton Fones, 39, dead inside the vehicle. Personnel from the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District also responded to the scene. The Deschutes County Medical Examiner's Office and detectives from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Detective Division responded to conduct a death investigation.

The death was initially attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning from a running motor. However, police reported that, ""After a detailed medical exam that was not able to be performed at the scene, the cause of death for Edward Fones was determined to be hypothermia and manner was accidental. Other medical conditions also contributed to his death but carbon monoxide was not able to be ruled out until the detailed exam was completed. Carbon monoxide, drugs, and alcohol were not believed to be associated with this accidental death caused by exposure to temperatures that were reported to be below 0 degrees."

Fones was last seen on Thursday night and had been working at a Sisters business for several months. A citizen who works in the area called and requested the welfare check.