Seven-Year-Old Nova Scotia Boy Dies After Two Frigid Nights In Woods

A Nova Scotia boy who survived two nights lost in a wooded area amid freezing temperatures succumbed to his injuries early Tuesday, several hours after he was airlifted to a hospital in Halifax.

Seven-year-old James Delorey was unconscious and suffering from severe hypothermia when searchers found him in the snow Monday afternoon, about a kilometre from his Cape Breton home in South Bar.

Rescue officials said the little boy, who had followed his dog into the woods on Saturday afternoon, probably managed to cling to life by seeking shelter in the thick underbrush and huddling up with the family pet.

However, the cold had taken its toll. The boy’s vital signs were weak when he was found, and it was unclear whether he ever regained consciousness.

A spokeswoman for the IWK Health Centre delivered the sad news Tuesday morning.

“It is with our deepest regret to advise you that James Delorey did pass away … early this morning,” Jocelyn Vine, vice-president of patient care, told a news conference as her voice choked with emotion.

Vine read a statement from the boy’s mother, Veronica Fraser.

“The family would like to thank everyone involved in James’s care. It was amazing to see how everyone would come together. It really kept my hopes alive. We will have more to say later, after we’ve had some time.”

Vine said the hospital would not release further details to ensure the family’s privacy.

She said Delorey’s family was with him when he died, but she would not say who was there.

Vine also declined to talk about the life-saving measures used when the boy arrived at the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit Monday at 5:20 p.m.

“There are specialized techniques, skills and equipment that we do have available at the IWK,” she said.

“(But) we’re really respecting the family’s privacy as they’ve asked us to do. Our teams are also very sad.”

Severe hypothermia occurs when the body’s core temperature drops below 29 C. A normal body temperature is 37 C.

While there have been several high-profile cases of severely hypothermic children being resuscitated, most cases usually result in serious damage to internal organs.

The prognosis is generally very poor, said Dr. Philip Yoon, district chief of emergency medicine at the Capital Health District in Halifax.

Typically, hypothermic patients are slowly warmed up using blankets and warm intravenous fluids.

As well, blood can be drawn from the patient, rewarmed and then injected back into the body using a dialysis machine, according to the renowned Mayo Clinic.

Another method involves using a mask or breathing tube to give the patient warm, humidified oxygen.

In some cases, doctors use a technique known as cavity lavage, which involves injecting warm salt water into the stomach, bladder and colon.

The search for Delorey was particularly difficult because a storm had moved into the region on the weekend, blanketing the area in heavy, wet snow.

When he was last seen in the backyard of his home, Delorey wasn’t wearing a winter coat, hat or mittens.

As well, searchers were told the boy probably wouldn’t respond to their calls because he was autistic and couldn’t speak.

Hundreds of police officers, firefighters and civilian volunteers took part in the search.

Many of them tried to get the boy’s attention by promising him his favourite food, pizza, and encouraging him to “come see mummy.”

The snow kept falling on Sunday and Monday as strong gusts produced bone-chilling conditions.

The boy’s dog, a mixed-breed named Chance, emerged from the marshy forest north of Sydney about two hours before the boy was found.

Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter issued a statement expressing his sorrow over Delorey’s death.

“The Delorey family is in the hearts and prayers of Nova Scotians from one end of the province to the other,” he said.

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