Woman found dead in The Pas in extreme cold

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This article was published 22/02/2022 (1487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Extreme overnight temperatures are considered a factor in the death of a 31-year-old woman in The Pas.

The body of Ashley Kematch was discovered at approximately 10:15 a.m. Monday, RCMP said. Kematch was found outside a local residence she’d attended the evening before.

RCMP spokeswoman Tara Seel said Tuesday she could not confirm the cause of death until after an autopsy, but added: “Exposure does appear to be a contributing cause.”

Kematch was dressed for cold weather but not for extreme overnight temperatures, RCMP said. In the coldest hours, local temperatures plummeted to -37.6 C, with the wind chill dropping as low as -42 C.

RCMP said Kematch left the residence with an “unknown male,” who has yet to be located. However, police added they do not suspect foul play.

Several Facebook posts commemorating Kematch say she leaves behind a son.

“It’s terrible. It’s such a tragic loss of a young woman who had her whole life in front of her,” said The Pas Mayor Herb Jaques.

Jaques said he didn’t know Kematch personally, but he and other council members grieved the loss after hearing the news.

“If there is another individual who was involved and if his companion happened to fall, I have a hard time believing that in this weather and temperatures that anyone would just leave that person. It raises more questions than anything,” the mayor said.

Travelling in pairs or larger groups in extreme weather is recommended, said Dave MacDonald, founder of the International Canadian School of Survival and a former search and rescue technician in the military.

“You have somebody there that says, hopefully, that this isn’t a good idea, maybe we should turn back… They can check on you to see if you have frostbite or see if your emotional state is changing with hypothermia or something like that,” he said. “There’s so many benefits to going with another person.”

As body temperatures lower, a person will first begin to shiver, MacDonald said. Those shivers may come and go for a little while, but if a person stops shivering without having done anything to warm themselves, it’s a sign hypothermia is setting in, he said.

At that point, mental capacity can begin to deteriorate.

“When (the body) reaches a point that is too cold, you actually start behaving as though you’re drunk or going through a diabetic episode,” said Natalie Hasell, a warning preparedness meteorologist at Environment Canada.

“Muscles are going to be unco-ordinated, movements are going to be slow and laboured… you’ll have trouble speaking, thinking, walking. You might not remember what’s going on, and it could lead to things like loss of consciousness and cardiac arrest.”

Environment Canada lists several signs of extreme cold danger:

Mild frostbite makes the skin look yellowish or white, and severe frostbite causes the skin to become discoloured and black. Severe frostbite demands immediate treatment for nerve damage.

Hypothermia has three stages. In Stage 1, goosebumps pop up on the skin and hands become numb; breath can become quick and shallow, and you may feel nauseous. Stage 2 involves loss of co-ordination and mental capacity. Lips, ears, fingers and toes may turn blue. In Stage 3, shivering will stop and it will become very difficult to function.

Environment Canada advises wearing multiple layers of warm clothing, including a wind- and water-resistant outer layer.

It advises seeking shelter immediately, keeping your body moving to keep warm, and avoiding alcohol, which can trick a person into believing they are warmer than the actual body temperature.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca