The body of a 68-year-old man was found to be in advanced stages of hypothermia in Upper Liard last Sunday.

Thompson John Caesar's body was found in a resident's yard early that morning.

At 7:45 a.m., a neighbour noticed the body and contacted emergency services personnel.

When the ambulance and Watson Lake RCMP arrived, the man had no pulse. Emergency workers spent an hour trying to revive Caesar at the Watson Lake Hospital where he was later taken.

The Liard First Nation man likely passed out or fell down in the yard last Saturday night, said RCMP Sgt. Larry MacDonald, commander of the Watson Lake Detachment.

'It was dark out so no one noticed him until the morning,' said MacDonald.

Temperatures in Watson Lake dipped to -40 last weekend. Even though the man was dressed reasonably well for the weather, it wasn't enough to fight off death.

'It is very unfortunate,' said MacDonald.

MacDonald said no foul play is suspected. He believes that alcohol and exposure were contributing factors to the death.

Police noticed a faint smell of alcohol on Caesar's body.

An autopsy is being conducted by the Yukon Cornoner's Office to determine the cause of death.

This isn't the first hypothermic-like death in Watson Lake in recent months.

A mixture of alcohol, prescription drugs and exposure killed two Watson Lake men last fall.

Gordon Stewart, 40, and Lyndon Johnny, 37, were found dead in early October in an area known for public drinking.

Alcohol bottles and prescription drug containers were nearby.

An autopsy showed that Stewart died from a mixed-drug overdose. He also had symptoms of hypothermia.

Stewart's blood alcohol level was .14. He had eight drugs in his system, three of which he did not have prescriptions for: morphine, the sedative diazapam and codeine.

Johnny died from acute alcohol poisoning, with other drugs and hypothermia playing a role. His blood alcohol level was .30.

It is likely both men slowly slid into states of unconsciousness before dying.

The bodies of both men were found in a wooded area about 100 metres off Stikine Avenue, in a spot where people often go to drink liquor.

The area is 150 metres away from Watson Lake's liquor store.

The men had been wearing blue jeans, shirts and jackets suited for fall weather.

Found with the two bodies were a seven-day dispenser for prescription drugs, an empty 750-ml sherry bottle and an empty 375-ml whisky bottle.