Possible heat-related deaths under investigation

MOSES LAKE — The Grant County Coroner’s Office is investigating the deaths of two men to determine if they are related to the record-breaking heat the region experienced in late June and early July.

Officials are reviewing the cases of a 53-year-old man who died in the Ephrata area and a 68-year-old Moses Lake man. The dates of the deaths were not available.

Autopsies were conducted on both men, and a coroner’s office spokesperson said a final ruling on the cause of death would not be announced until the autopsy results are received. When autopsy results would be available is not known.

As of Wednesday morning, Adams County had not experienced any heat-related deaths, according to a spokesperson for the Adams County Prosecutor’s Office. The coroner isn’t notified of every death, but none have been heat-related among the deaths they have been notified about, the spokesperson said.

As of Monday, when last updated, the chart of heat-related deaths maintained by the Washington Department of Health didn’t not list any in Grant or Adams counties.