Police find man frozen and alone in Polson Park

VERNON – A homeless Vernon man could have died Friday night if coincidence hadn’t brought police to his side.

Around 11:20 p.m. an officer was patrolling Polson park on an unrelated call when he discovered a 35-year-old man on the ground.

“The man had on inadequate winter clothing for the -16 C weather at the time. (His) hands were ungloved and he was sitting exposed in the snow,” RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says, adding he was barely conscious and extremely intoxicated.

Emergency personnel transported him to Vernon Jubilee Hospital where he was treated for hypothermia and frostbite.

“The man told the officer he thinks he had been lying in the park for approximately six hours prior to being found,” Molendyk says.

The man won’t lose any digits from the frostbite, but it was a close call.

“Medical staff at the hospital told our officer that had he not found the man when he did, he would have died before morning.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.