The University of Iowa student who died after being found outside on campus in subzero temperatures was “a momma’s boy with a tough exterior,” his dad said.
Gerald Belz, 18, was discovered unconscious Wednesday around 3 a.m. behind an academic hall — when the wind chill was about minus 51 degrees. The first-year pre-med student was rushed to a hospital, where he died.
“I want people to remember him as a compassionate person,” his dad, Michael Belz, told KCRG. “He had many more friends than I was aware of.”
Officials believe the teen died because of arctic temperatures that have been linked to at least nine other deaths as a polar vortex grips the Midwest. Doctors didn’t find any alcohol in his system, his family said, but the precise cause of death is not yet known.
The teen had been Snapchatting with his girlfriend late Tuesday and told her he was going to bed, his dad said, according to the Daily Iowan.
He’d graduated in May from Kennedy High School, where he played football.
The university canceled classes until Thursday amid the frigid weather.
With Post wires
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