A 45-year-old Arizona woman died of heat stroke in a summer of record-high temperatures after her air conditioner was stolen.
A 45-year-old Arizona woman died from heat stroke inside the home she shared with her husband after their air conditioner was stolen, her family says.
Debra McKnight died of heat exhaustion and heat stroke earlier this month in the state's northwest section, as Arizona continues to break records this summer with excessive temperatures surpassing 110 degrees.
She left behind her husband, Paul, two grown sons and a granddaughter, according to her online obituary.
The woman's sister, Christine Larsen, said McKnight had been struggling in the oppressive heat and had been drinking copious amounts of water.
"Hearing the possibility of it being heat stroke was not a surprise. Hearing that I had just lost my baby sister, that was a surprise," Larsen told a local station.
Parts of the southwest have sweltered for the last month under temperatures of 110-plus degrees.
McKnight's husband Paul has established a GoFundMe page to help with the costs of his wife's cremation and memorial service.
"She will be missed greatly," her husband wrote. "This was so unexpected. Please help us so that she may get a memorial service and so her family can say goodbye. Thank you we appreciate any help we can get."
Larsen said her sister and some family members weren't on speaking terms, and now those relatives can never make amends with McKnight.
"I have family who now regrets it. And you don’t want that. You don’t want that burden ever," she said.
Related Stories
