A 58-year-old man, seemingly homeless, was discovered dead in a snowbank on Thursday morning, not far from the famous merry-go-round in Central Park, according to police.
The man’s body was found around 10:50 a.m., following a 911 call at the intersection of Traverse Road and 63 Center Drive, as reported by the NYPD.
Authorities indicated that the man’s identity has not yet been disclosed, and he was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.
Images from the site reveal white tarps and police tape surrounding the area where the body was located, following a recent snowstorm that covered the area with two feet of snow.
Officials noted that it seemed he had been lying there for quite some time.
At this point, there are no immediate suspicions surrounding the circumstances of his death.
The city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will carry out a formal investigation into the cause of death.
During a recent snowstorm from midnight Sunday until Monday afternoon, police engaged with 130 homeless individuals; however, 127 of them refused shelter, according to the department.
Only two cases received city assistance, and while support teams did not forcibly remove anyone from the streets, officers unintentionally took one person into custody whom they believed was a danger to themselves.
The intense cold weather at the end of January and early February resulted in 19 deaths outdoors, with the coroner confirming that 15 were attributed to the common cold.
Officials stated that “hypothermia due to environmental exposure to cold” was the leading cause of death among those New Yorkers.
