Taking Shortcut

University of Vermont Student Died While Taking Shortcut

The temperature was as low as -4 degrees

By Kate Seamons

The 19-year-old was a student at the University of Vermont.   (Getty Images)

The cold is being blamed on the death of a University of Vermont student whose body was found in the snow on Saturday morning.
Burlington police say in a tweet that the 19-year-old male was apparently taking a shortcut that led him through the rear parking lot of a business but was blocked by a fence. "The incident occurred in the vicinity of a parking lot at 294 N Winooski," per the department.

Efforts to resuscitate the young man, whose identity has not been released, failed. Police say there is no indication of foul play, and that the low temps and his "inadequate" clothing were factors in his death. The temperature was as low as -4 degrees early Saturday morning; the Burlington Free Press reports the National Weather Service in Burlington observed it was the coldest Groundhog Day in 26 years. Police haven't yet determined if drugs or alcohol were involved.