Mississippi heat-related deaths now at 6
GULFPORT – Authorities said two sisters found dead in their mobile home this week actually died of heatstroke about two weeks ago. The bodies of 65-year old Elizabeth Thomas and her 57-year old sister, Jennifer Thomas, were found on Wednesday after a DHS worker didn’t get an answer at the door.
That brings the total of heat-related deaths in Mississippi to 6.
The Thomas sisters lived in a mobile home on Smith Road near Canal Road in Harrison County. They were found sitting side by side on a couch.
Two brand new air conditioner units were sitting on the floor unopened.
Gulfport authorities said Elizabeth owned the mobile home and leased the space from a landowner. Her younger sister, Jennifer, had Down’s Syndrome and moved in with Elizabeth after the death of their mother.
The sisters had no other relatives.
Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove told The Sun Herald that a member of their church had offered to install the new air conditioners in the home, but Elizabeth declined the offer saying she would get someone else to do it.
The Sun Herald also said the landowner brought the sisters their mail a few weeks ago, and church members and neighbors had mowed their lawn a month earlier.
A neighbor contacted the Department of Human Services on Aug. 2 regarding a welfare concern and when the DHS worker arrived at the residence on Aug. 4, and didn’t get an answer, they contacted the sheriff’s department.
When deputies forced their way in, they found the sisters sitting side by side on the couch dead.
Authorities said the mobile home had electricity and running water, but window fans inside the home were blowing hot air. They said the temperature inside the mobile home was above 90 degrees.
Autopsies performed on the sisters confirmed their deaths were heat-related and Jennifer’s medical condition contributed to her death.
Six people have now died from the extreme heat in Mississippi.
The heat has also caused trouble for motorists in Rankin County with portions of the roadway on U.S. Highway 49 buckling due to high temperatures.
Officials continue to ask all Mississippians to check on elderly neighbors and relatives and those in ill-health during the heat wave.
Mississippi remains under a heat advisory.
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