Des Moines police found Jonathan Dowie on his front porch Sunday morning, his feet bare. He wasn't wearing a coat.

The 27-year-old had dashed out to his car in subzero temperatures to get a pack of cigarettes about 4:30 a.m. He returned to find the door to his house at 1729 10th St. locked. He said he curled up on the porch and waited for his roommate to return.

"I thought he'd be there any time," Dowie said.

When police found him five hours later, Dowie's body temperature had dropped to 86 degrees, 12 degrees below normal. He was freezing to death.

Dowie said he did not put on socks and shoes when he went to his car because he intended to be outside for only a few seconds.

It was -9 F (-22 C) that night! An honorable mention, but certainly an at risk survivor.

Submitted on 01/10/2010

Submitted by: LeDoyle Pingel
Reference: Des Moines Register, 6 Jan 2010 (DesMoines, Iowa, USA)

Copyright © 2010 DarwinAwards.com

Candi said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
I-I-I don't know. This is certainly dumb enough, but it doesn't jump out and holler "Darwin!" at me. Let's see what the other mods have to say.

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
I'll go HM on this one. Even with the cold temperatures we're currently having I keep the door open a crack AND make sure it's unlocked if I need to run outside for anything like the mail. This guy also apparently didn't have the intelligence to realize that the extreme cold is potentially deadly and not something to take lightly. Thanks for sending this in!

James said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
Oh, sure, I've been out in NYC cold with only a t-shirt to run to the car, &c, but I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS bring my keys!!! Obviously, this poor simp was jonesin', and as a result he got his priorities all backwards! It's a good thing the cops found him, but somehow I think we'll hear from him again down the road!

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