Woman, 78, found laying in snow on South Side is season’s 3rd cold death

A woman who died after being found laying in the snow early Monday in the Cottage Grove Heights neighborhood on the South Side is the third reported cold weather-related death of the 2018-2019 season, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Martha Stephens, 78, was found laying in the snow about 3 a.m. near her home in the 9800 block of South Maryland, according to Chicago police.

Paramedics responded to the scene and she was taken to Trinity Hospital where she was pronounced dead about 4:45 a.m., authorities said.

She suffered from dementia, according to the medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy Tuesday found Stephens died of hypothermia and cold exposure. Her death was ruled an accident, the medical examiner’s office said.

The county reported at least 31 cold-related deaths during the 2017-2018 season.