College student found lying on pavement, dead of exposure to cold in Central New York

A 20-year-old college student appears to have frozen to death in central New York — and now police are hoping to retrace his steps that night.

The student was identified as Tyler Lopresti-Castro, who was studying accounting at SUNY Oneonta in Oneonta, New York

His death came during a period of dangerously cold temperatures, including wind chills of 25 to 30 below zero, police said in a news release.

Lopresti-Castro’s body was found 6:50 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 27, near Exit 13 of Interstate 88, police said.

City employees reported finding “a male, laying on the pavement near the Silas Lane Bus Garage,” police said.

“Tyler Lopresti-Castro was initially identified by his SUNY Oneonta ID and was apparently suffering from extended exposure to extremely cold, subzero temperatures,” police said.

“Officers and Fire EMS were dispatched and began treatment on scene and the individual was transported to A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital.”

Investigators have learned he “was last seen around midnight” but his whereabouts between then and 2:15 a.m. remain a mystery.

He did not use a city bus to reach the spot where he died, officials said.

Instead, bus garage video footage shows “Lopresti-Castro emerged from a wooded area behind the garage at about 2:15 am.”

“A search of the surrounding area indicates Tyler may have walked off the roadway at the eastbound off-ramp for I-88 at the intersection of Route 205, climbing through the snow and crossing a drainage creek before emerging on Oneonta City property,” police said.

“Tyler was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans ... and could have been walking in the area of River Street-River Street Service Road, Oneida Street or Chestnut Street areas during that time frame.”

His cell phone was recovered and is being analyzed for information on recent contacts, officials said.

Evidence of a crime being committed has yet to be found, the department said in a March 11 update.

It appears he left apart alone around midnight and began walking the neighborhood where he lived in an apartment, officials said.

“Preliminary findings indicate alcohol and caffeine were present ... but at this time there is question as to what his actual blood alcohol concentration may have been so many hours before he was discovered,” police said.

“Any and all leads to this point have been followed and Investigators are currently waiting for other data to be analyzed as well as for the delivery of information sought by legal process. “

Lopresti-Castro was raised in Nassau, New York, and enrolled in the college in 2019 to pursue a Bachelor of Professional Accounting degree, according to his Facebook page.

This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 6:23 AM with the headline "College student found lying on pavement, dead of exposure to cold in Central New York."