FedEx worker found frozen to death outside Illinois facility

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Authorities in Illinois say the bitter cold played a role in the death of a FedEx employee whose body was found outside a delivery hub in East Moline Thursday morning.

Captain Darren Gault of the East Moline Police Department said the 69-year-old victim was discovered between two semi-trailers outside the freight facility by another FedEx employee around 9:30 a.m.

Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson said the cause of death is unknown but added no foul play is suspected. An autopsy is scheduled for Feb. 4, WQAD reports.

In a statement provided to AOL News, FedEx said, "We are saddened by the loss of our team member and our sympathies go out to his family and friends. We are working with local authorities as they investigate."

Temperatures across the U.S. Midwest dropped well below freezing this week, with certain regions recording wind chills as low as minus-70 degrees Fahrenheit. A wind chill of just minus 25 can freeze skin within 15 minutes.

More than a dozen fatalities have been linked to the historic cold snap, including an 18-year-old University of Iowa student who was found unresponsive outside of a campus building on Wednesday morning.

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