A Woman in Her 40s Found Dead After Being in a Patrol Car for Over 35 Hours

Found Loitering in Police Station Parking Lot
Official: "Vehicle Not Usually Used"

A woman in her 40s, who was reported missing, was found dead in a police patrol car, and it has been determined that she died after being unable to get out of the patrol car for more than 35 hours.

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On the 18th, the Hadong Police Station in Gyeongnam reported that A (in her 40s) was found dead in a patrol car parked in the parking lot of a police substation in Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam, at 2:09 p.m. the previous day. Earlier that day, A’s family had reported her missing, and police who responded to the call discovered A dead in the back seat of the patrol car.

The police captured footage from a nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV) showing A wandering around the police substation parking lot at 2:12 a.m. on the 16th, and based on this, they estimate that A was inside the patrol car for more than 35 hours. It was confirmed that the patrol car’s doors were not locked at the time.

The back seat of the patrol car can only be opened from the outside and has no internal handle. It is separated from the front seat by a safety partition. This is usually to prevent suspects or detainees in the back seat from opening the door and jumping out while the vehicle is moving. For this reason, the police believe that A was unable to get out of the patrol car for an extended period and died. No signs of trauma or criminal suspicion were found on A, and a heatwave warning was in effect in Hadong at the time. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the highest daytime temperatures in Hadong near the incident location were 35.2°C and 34.7°C on the 16th and 17th, respectively.

The police plan to conduct an autopsy on the 19th to determine the exact cause of A’s death. They are also investigating the circumstances of the incident, including why the patrol car doors were not locked. According to Article 96 of the Police Equipment Management Regulations, “When parking or stopping a vehicle, attention must be paid to theft prevention, such as locking the vehicle doors.” A police substation official explained, “There are two patrol cars, and the one involved in the incident was a vehicle that was not usually used.”