WEBER COUNTY, Utah, Nov. 20, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A 67-year-old homeless man was found Sunday deceased after overnight temperatures had reached a low of 27 degrees, according to online weather records.
The call came to dispatch at 12:46 p.m., after a man had passed the homeless man on the way to a fishing spot on the Weber River.
“He walked by and went and fished,” Sgt. Paul Babinsky, Weber County Sheriff’s Office, told Gephardt daily.
“He noticed the guy was laying down and came back a little while later, saw him in the same spot, and that’s when he called. When we got there, we found the deceased male, 67 years old.”
The body was found near 21st Street and Skate Street. The name of the deceased has not been released pending notification of family.
The man was known to deputies, who had interacted with him before over relatively minor issues, including panhandling, Babinsky said. He was found without a sleeping bag, but dressed in heavy-duty overalls and a jacket.
Babinsky said he and a deputy had conducted a welfare check on the man just three days earlier.
“We got there, saw him, talked to him, spoke to him, seeing if he needed anything, any medical or if he wanted to go somewhere. He said, no, he was fine. He didn’t need any medical attention.”
Although the cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office, Babinsky said the cold weather could have been a factor.
“Some of these transients, they won’t go seek shelter until it’s bitter cold.”
Babinski did confirm the incident was the first transient death he knew of in Weber County this winter season.
