An elderly woman and her adult son who got trapped in their car during a snowstorm have been found dead outside a Rhode Island hospital.
Irina Kozak, 75, and Stanislaw Kozak, 49, were discovered inside the white Kia Sorento they had been living in for the past year on February 11.
Authorities believe Irina lay trapped next to the deceased body of her son for more than two weeks before she also perished.
The grim find came almost two weeks after she pulled into a parking spot at Miriam Hospital in Providence seeking respite during a fierce snowstorm.
Irina contacted a friend who told dispatchers that they were near a park by the hospital and they couldn't get out of the vehicle on January 28, according to WPRI.
The friend, who is a Russian interpreter, also told dispatchers that Irina had informed her that Stanislaw hadn't 'moved in two days'.
Police were dispatched to the area, but were unable to find the mother and son, nor were they able to get in contact with Irina or the friend. After an hour of searching, officers marked on the report that they were 'unable to locate' them.
The mother and son were eventually found dead in their vehicle in a parking lot next to the hospital.
Irina Kozak, 75, and her son Stanislaw Kozak, 49, were found dead in their car near Miriam Hospital. An investigator is seen looking inside the car
The car was eventually towed, leaving behind cigarette butts and a piece of clothing. A friend of Irina's had called police to inform them she was trapped inside the vehicle and that her son hadn't moved in two days
Providence Police Col. Oscar Perez said they were parked in a parking lot near Miriam Hospital in Providence during a snow storm. A friend told police they were near a park by the hospital, but officers were unable to locate the car
Police determined they died weather-related deaths, although underlying health issues were also a factor, WPRI reported.
Police were able to contact a family member who lives in Germany to notify them.
The car was eventually towed away, leaving behind cigarette butts and a piece of clothing, NBC 10 said.
Their deaths came as Providence was peppered with 20 inches of snow in the late-January storm.
Temperatures had also plunged to the single digits the night the friend called police.
More than 30 people died during Winter Storm Fern, including a New Jersey man who was found with a shovel in his hand.
The 67-year-old man was found unresponsive by the Verona Police Department.
Fatalities from Winter Storm Fern have also been reported in states spanning from Texas all the way to Massachusetts.
The treacherous weather pounded parts of the South and the Plains, bringing ice, freezing rain and snow, before the storm spread eastward.
