As last week’s freezing temperatures dropped to minus 4 degrees and included more than seven inches of snowfall, the elements were too severe for a 61 year old woman, recently evicted from her home, to survive. According to the Hamilton Police Department, the body of the Hamilton, Montana, woman was found near some bushes behind the Super One Foods grocery store in Hamilton at about noon Sunday.
The unnamed woman had been reported missing on February 11. Police had been looking for her, but they were unsuccessful until Sunday. She had been identified as a missing person in the National Crime Information Center, which is only accessible to law enforcement officials.
Hamilton Police Chief Ryan Oster explained that there was no evidence of foul play, but that she died as a result of exposure.
Officer Oster confirmed that the homeless woman was evicted from her apartment on Feb. 7. Officers indicated they have spoken to someone who had contact with the woman on Feb.8, but no other details had been released regarding her whereabouts after that time.
Until the woman’s family or next of kin have been notified, police will not release her name.