Bartlett man's death ruled hypothermia

Roy Kloss never made it inside his home after a cab drove him back early New Year's Day from a downtown Bartlett bar, his ex-wife said.

“Had he made it into the house, he probably would still be alive,” Noreen Kloss said.

The Cook County medical examiner's office said the 65-year-old Kloss died of hypothermia. A friend found Kloss unconscious outside his Bartlett home on the 300 block of Helen Drive around 1 p.m. Jan. 1.

The medical examiner's office also said alcohol was a factor in the death.

Noreen Kloss said Roy Kloss was at a local bar since 9 p.m. New Year's Eve. The bar called a cab for him, she was told by police, because bar workers said Kloss was so drunk they couldn't understand what he was saying.

The cab dropped Kloss at his home around 4 a.m. New Year's Day, but he apparently tripped on the patio steps that led to the house, Noreen Kloss said. The fall fractured his hand and dislocated his shoulder, she said.

A doctor told Noreen Kloss her ex-husband passed out within two minutes of the fall.

“It had nothing to do with ice,” she said.

He spent six to eight hours outside in subfreezing temperatures before his body was discovered, she said.

Kloss lived alone, in the home the couple at one point shared. They moved in 2008 to Bartlett after living in Naperville.

Sgt. Jessica Crowley of the Bartlett Police Department confirmed that Kloss was discovered at about 1 p.m. Jan. 1. An ambulance drove him to St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates where he died.

Hospital staffers attempted to revive Kloss with five hours of CPR, Noreen Kloss said. His body temperature dropped below 60 degrees, and while the medical staff got it elevated to 74 degrees, his vital signs never returned, Noreen Kloss said.

The National Weather Service reported a high temperature of 41 degrees and a low of 14 degrees for Jan. 1.

Roy Kloss was living off disability benefits and had worked several jobs in customer services, his ex-wife said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

“I'm still trying to get all this together and sorted out,” Noreen Kloss said.

“He didn't have any money,” she added. “I'm his ex-wife, and I'm kind of in a bind myself. I'm still working on that.”