Officials ID woman found outside Iowa assisted living home

BONDURANT, Iowa (AP) — Polk County authorities have identified a woman who died after she was found outside an assisted living home in sub-zero temperatures.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says 77-year-old Lynne Harriet Stewart died at a hospital after being found last Friday outside the Courtyard Estates at Hawthorne Crossing in Bondurant.

Officials say the temperature outside when she was found by facility staff members was minus 8 degrees.

A department news release Wednesday said that investigators do not know how long Stewart had been outside when she was found. The facility, which serves people with dementia, was fined $1,500 in 2020 after a male resident was able to leave the home and climb over a secure fence.