A University of Vermont student was found dead over the weekend in the snow behind a business in Burlington. It is the second death of college student that has been attributed to the sub-zero temperatures that have gripped much of the nation in the last week.
The Burlington Free Press reports that Connor Gage, 19, was found Saturday morning unresponsive and lying in the snow in the back parking lot of a business. Emergency workers tried to resuscitate the 19-year-old, but he could not be revived, police say.
Investigators say Gage was taking a shortcut through the parking lot early Saturday and was blocked by a fence. Police believe the temperature and inadequate clothing contributed to the death. The temperature in the early morning on Saturday was between 1 and 4 degrees below zero.
The death came three days after a University of Iowa student, Gerald Belz, 18, was found dead in the subzero cold behind an academic building on the Iowa City campus.
Gage was a 2018 graduate of Little Falls High School in Little Falls, N.Y. He was a first-year student at the university and was majoring in Neuroscience.
Annie Stevens, University of Vermont vice provost for student affairs, posted a message of condolence on the university's Facebook page.
"We extend our deepest condolences to Connor’s family," Stevens wrote. "Our sincere thoughts of care and sympathy are also extended to his friends, classmates, and to faculty and staff who were close to him."
