Des Plaines man is Cook County’s 13th cold-related death of season

A northwest suburban man found dead Thursday morning is Cook County’s 13th cold-related death of the season.

Officers were called about an unresponsive person in the 800 block of South 3rd Avenue in Des Plaines at 9:05 a.m., according to Des Plaines police.

Robert P. Curtin, 53, was found dead at the scene, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. He lived in the same block.

An autopsy Friday found Curtin died from hypothermia and cold exposure, the medical examiner’s office said. Chronic alcoholism and heart disease were listed as secondary causes, and the death was ruled an accident.

At least 12 other people have died of cold-related causes in Cook County since Nov. 3, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Last winter, 26 people died at least partly from cold exposure in Cook County, according to the medical examiner’s office. During the 2013-14 winter season, there were 32 confirmed cold-related deaths.