Found in a Hypothermic State Near Supermarket
No One Noticed for Several Hours
A 14-year-old girl in Poland was left unattended next to a supermarket on a main road in cold weather and eventually died of hypothermia.
According to PAP news agency on the 1st (local time), Natalia, who lives in Andrych?w near Krak?w in southern Poland, lost contact after calling her father on the 28th of last month while on her way to school, saying "I don't feel well." After contacting her father, Natalia was found sitting on the ground next to the supermarket. Although this supermarket was located on a main road, it is reported that no one paid attention to Natalia for several hours.
The police, who received a missing person report from Natalia's father, began searching the nearby area. However, it was not the police but a friend of her father who found Natalia. When she was found around 1 p.m. that day, her body temperature had dropped to 22 degrees Celsius due to the subzero weather, indicating severe hypothermia.
Natalia was immediately taken to a nearby hospital in Krak?w but died the following evening. Tomasz ?ak, the mayor of Andrych?w, said about Natalia's death, "We are all shocked." Andrych?w is a small town with a population of about 20,000.
The local prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into whether there was any negligence causing Natalia's death. A spokesperson for the local prosecutor's office told PAP news agency, "The prosecution is comprehensively investigating how this incident occurred based on witness interviews and other evidence," adding, "We are investigating whether any individual's actions or omissions influenced the girl's death."
The police are conducting an audit of the officers who were involved in the search for Natalia at the time.
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