Woman's family demand answers after she's mysteriously found frozen to death on hospital roof
The family of a missing woman who was found frozen to death on the roof of a hospital she was admitted to the day before are demanding answers.
Chelsea Adolphus, of Waukegan, a city in Illinois less than an hour's drive north of Chicago, visited the Vista Medical Center East at around 4am on Wednesday, January 22 for an unspecified medical issue.
The following day (Thursday, January 23), staff noticed she had gone missing from her room at 2am. Around seven hours later, she was discovered unresponsive on the roof of the Waukegan facility.
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The Lake County Coroner reported she had been treated in the emergency room for 14 hours before being declared dead at 11pm that same day.
Yesterday (January 27), an autopsy found that the 28-year-old patient died of hypothermia, having been dressed in only a hospital gown while she faced temperatures as cold as 19°F - which is well below freezing.
According to Time and Date, a website which records past weather reports, there was light snow and fog between the hours of midnight and 6am on January 23, with temperatures reaching as low as 23°F.
While it also reports that on the same day, from 6am till midday, the downfall of snow had stopped but temperatures dropped further to as low as 19°F.
It is still unknown how Chelsea managed to reach the roof of the hospital.
Speaking during a press conference at Lake County Coroner's office, her brother Paul Adolphus said: "My sister didn’t deserve this. She was young and changing her life around to be an amazing person to travel the world through real estate.
"Where is the surveillance team? Where's the camera? Where's the, 'hey, where's the doctors? What's going on here? Where's all this security that was there for no reason?' We want to know exactly what happened from when my sister stepped foot in that facility."
He added: "I’m just 100 percent I don’t think it’s fair that my sister came to a facility that is supposed to be safe and they end up being the one causing the death of my sister."
Lake County coroner Jennifer Banek also claimed there was a 'lack of care and safety measures' in place at the medical center, which is operated by American Healthcare Systems.
"The Waukegan Police Department had not been notified of the incident and were notified by the Lake County Coroner's Office," she explained. "American Healthcare Systems and the costs medical leadership team has been issued a preservation letter by my office ensuring all paper, video, digital and electronic evidence is not destroyed, overwritten or deleted."
American Healthcare Systems sent the following statement to CBS News: "We deeply regret the incident that occurred at Vista Medical Center on January 23, 2025. In accordance with HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act], the hospital is unable to comment on any patient's specific health information.
"We are conducting our own internal investigation, which is ongoing. Additionally, we have reported the incident to state and federal regulatory agencies, and we are cooperating fully with them and with local law enforcement."
Adding: "Due to our requirements under HIPAA, we are prevented from releasing details about this matter."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email [email protected].
Joe Yates