NC teen died of exposure in heavy snow, brutal temps, medical examiner rules
A North Carolina teen died of exposure after several hours in heavy snow and “extreme cold temperatures” last weekend, police said late Friday, citing a medical examiner’s preliminary report.
Yadira Hernandez Castro, 18, died after walking from a friend’s home around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, according to a Concord Police Department news release. Alcohol was listed as a “contributing circumstance” to her death, police said.
The report found no signs of physical assault or trauma, police said. “Superficial bruises and cuts” on the teen’s body were “consistent with video evidence showing Hernandez Castro climbing fences, stumbling, and falling while trying to walk through heavy snow,” police said.
Police: Video footage showed teen walking alone
Hernandez Castro left her home around 6 p.m. Saturday to visit the friend, and her family last spoke with her on the phone around 10:50 p.m., officials said.
Her family tried to reach her again several times that overnight and went looking for her when she didn’t respond. They never found her, so they reported her missing to police around 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
The Concord Police Department met with the Hernandez Castro family to review the preliminary medical examiner’s report, share videos and photos from the evening, and answer their questions.
Police said they immediately began investigating the case, including speaking to friends, family and neighbors and checking phone and video footage. Her family and many other residents also continued searching for her, police said.
Video footage showed her walking alone near Pine Street, Kerr Street, Crowell Drive and Academy Avenue from about 10:30 p.m. Saturday to around 1 a.m. Sunday. That’s when she was last seen on video, near Ervin Avenue and Academy Avenue, police said. They did not identify the source of the video.
‘Heartbreaking week’
Hernandez Castro wore several layers of clothing, police said.
Temperatures in the Concord area Saturday night and early Sunday averaged 19.4 degrees, police said, citing the National Weather Service office in Greer, South Carolina. Winds during the snowfall were 6 to 16 mph, with gusts up to 23 mph, police said. The wind chill was 5 to 11 degrees, according to the NWS.
“It’s been a heartbreaking week for the Hernandez Castro family and our community,” Concord Police Chief Jimmy Hughes said in a statement. “Yadira was a young woman with so much life ahead of her, a life that tragically ended too soon.”
Hughes thanked the community and the family for helping with the search.
“We ask the community to join us in continuing to hold the Hernandez Castro family close and support them and their privacy as they grieve during this unimaginable loss of their beloved daughter and sister,” Hughes said.
This story was originally published February 7, 2026 at 7:01 AM.