This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
He wore long winter underwear under his clothing, a hooded sweatshirt and a heavy coat, but even those precautions could not protect a South Salt Lake man from bitterly cold overnight temperatures.
Kelton M. MacCarthy, a 22-year-old South Salt Lake resident, was found dead at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, wedged between a 6-foot cinder block wall and an adjacent 4-foot building foundation near 3800 South and 700 East.
MacCarthy — who apparently froze to death — was reportedly related to an employee at the nearby CRI Lifetree business.
South Salt Lake police spokesman Gary Keller said Thursday that the location where the man's body was found was roughly 3 miles east of where he lived, an apartment in the area of 700 West and 3900 South.
Witnesses said they had seen the victim, who appeared intoxicated, on Tuesday afternoon.
Later, an acquaintance found the man's cellphone and then spotted his body and called 911.
Keller said that while police awaited results of an autopsy and forensic testing for an official cause of death, "nothing appears suspicious at this time.
"He had been out there the entire night," Keller said. "We don't know if he slipped and fell in the space where he was found, or had passed out or fallen asleep, but it does appear he was overcome by the elements."
In a statement, CRI Lifetree confirmed that MacCarthey was the son of an employee, but did not further identify the employee.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and we are focused on supporting our employee and her family through this difficult time,"the statement read.
Overnight temperatures in the Salt Lake Valley have been in the single-digits for the past week.
Police also are investigating the possibility that the man was expecting a ride that either missed him, or did not come.
On Monday, Salt Lake City police found a 39-year-old man who had frozen to death in Memory Grove.
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