Police are investigating the death of a 51-year-old man found behind a business on North Main Street early Tuesday morning, as temperatures plunged to dangerous lows.
Barre City officers were called to the rear of a property in the 400 block of North Main Street around 6 a.m. on December 9 for a report of a deceased individual. Responding officers located Richard Govea, 51, of Barre, who police said was known to be unhoused.
According to investigators, Govea appeared to be in a condition consistent with paradoxical undressing, a phenomenon sometimes associated with severe hypothermia. Overnight temperatures in Barre had dropped to roughly 17 degrees below zero, police said, and hypothermia is considered a possible factor in his death.
According to the National Institute of Health, paradoxical undressing is associated with severe alcoholism and “might be explained by changes in peripheral vasoconstriction in the deeply hypothermic person. It represents the last effort of the victim and is followed almost immediately by unconsciousness and death.”
Govea’s body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy to determine the exact cause and manner of death. The incident remains under investigation.
Police noted that during extreme cold snaps, a low-barrier shelter is available in Barre City and is publicized through local media and outreach efforts. They urged anyone experiencing homelessness—or those concerned about someone lacking shelter—to contact service providers during dangerous weather conditions.