Topeka police said they found a naked woman outdoors just after 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 26, when the National Weather Service said Topeka recorded a wind chill of -14 degrees.
An American Medical Response ambulance transported the woman to a Topeka hospital, where she was being treated for “possible frostbite-related injuries,” said Kimberly K. Qualls, the city’s senior public relations specialist.
The woman’s name and age have not been released.
Topeka police said they found a naked woman outdoors just after 9 a.m. Monday, Jan. 26, when the National Weather Service said the wind chill index in Topeka was -14 degrees.
When police arrived, they found the woman was naked.
Qualls said police were called to check on the woman and found her near the intersection of SE Adams and Interstate 70.
“On arrival, officers found a female who was unclothed,” she said.
What is hypothermia? Is undressing a symptom?
Police did not release further details, including whether the woman suffered from hypothermia.
Hypothermia is a medical emergency that occurs when a person’s core body temperature drops below 95 degrees, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
The website livescience.com says one of the effects of hypothermia can be “paradoxical undressing,” in which the victim removes most or all of their clothing.
“To prevent heat loss from the extremities, the body of a hypothermic person causes vasoconstriction, a reflexive contraction of the blood vessels,” the website states.
“Over time, however, the muscles needed to induce vasoconstriction become exhausted, causing warm blood to rush from the core to the extremities,” it says. “The researchers concluded that this caused a ‘hot flash’ that made victims of severe hypothermia – who were already confused and disoriented – feel as if they were burning, so they took off their clothes.”
Emporia dies of hypothermia over weekend
Monday marked the fourth day in a row that wind chill indexes dropped below zero in Topeka and other cities in northeastern Kansas.
The Emporia Police Department says 28-year-old Rebecca Rauber may have died of hypothermia and is investigating. She disappeared late Jan. 23 after leaving the Town Royal bar in Emporia on foot without her purse, jacket or cell phone. Emporia is located approximately 50 miles southwest of Topeka.
Emporia police announced on January 25 that they found Lauber’s body in a wooded area.
Police said Lauber “may have died of hypothermia early in her disappearance because she was covered in snow from Saturday’s snowstorm.”
Please contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared in the Topeka Capital Journal: Here’s why naked woman found outdoors in Topeka may be suffering from hypothermia
