HYPOTHERMIA KILLS CROSS FORK WOMAN

State police based in Coudersport late Thursday night said it was hypothermia that killed a 50-year-old Potter County woman who died last Sunday night.

Erie County Coroner's Office said the "preliminary cause of death is hypothermia which developed as a complication of an episode of aquatic immersion, likely exacerbated by acute alcohol intoxication."

The body of Patricia M. Blouse of Cross Fork was found in Cross Fork Creek at the end of Old Cross Fork Road in Stewardson Township by members of the Kettle Creek Hose Company.

Blouse was pronounced dead at the scene by Potter County Coroner Kevin Dusenbury at midnight.

Police said her paramour, James K. Gelzenlichter, 55, was also in the water that night. He was taken to Bucktail Medical Center in Renovo where he was being treated for hypothermiclike symptoms.

Police from the Denton Hill barracks said Blouse went into the creek about seven-tenths of a mile north of Route 144, near the village of Cross Fork.

Police have not released additional details and are continuing their investigation.