Correction: The first death suspected as connected with this emergency was an 87-year-old man found in the 97230 ZIP code. It had previously been reported that he was 84 years old.
Multnomah County, Ore. (July 10, 2024) — The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office on Wednesday, July 10, reported it is investigating an additional suspected heat death of a Multnomah County resident in connection with the state of emergency declared July 5 amid dangerous temperatures.
There are now five County residents whose deaths are under investigation as heat-related.
The first death suspected as connected with this emergency — an 87-year-old man found in the 97230 ZIP code — was reported Friday, July 5.
The second death — a 64-year-old man found in the 97206 ZIP code — was reported Sunday, July 7.
The third death — a 75-year-old man found in the 97216 ZIP code — was also reported Sunday, July 7.
The fourth death — a 67-year-old woman found in the 97212 ZIP code — was reported Monday, July 8.
The fifth death — a 72-year-old man found in the 97203 ZIP code — was reported Tuesday, July 9.
Additionally, on Saturday, July 6, a 33-year-old man was transported from outside Multnomah County to a Portland hospital, where he then died. This individual was a Clackamas County resident.
No other details are being released or are available at this time.
All deaths are still considered suspected cases and are under investigation as potential hot-weather-related deaths.
Investigators say confirmation will not be complete for several weeks to months. Further tests and investigation will determine whether the deaths are officially hot-weather-related. In some cases, the deaths may be found to have had other causes. The County will update this information as it becomes available.
For the latest information on available cooling spaces, and free transportation, call 2-1-1 or go to multco.us/hot.
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