Mrs. Helen Louise Ross, 44, of Rt. 3, Delphi, died at 9:45 p.m. Sunday in Memorial Hospital, Logansport, from third degree burns over 90 percent of her body. Carroll County Deputy Sheriff Jerry Britton said Mrs. Ross was found in bed near death by her 17-year-old son, Jeffery, at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. He told authorities that he found his mother with her clothes entirely burned from her body when he returned from mushroom hunting. He said she was conscious and told him that she had been burning trash outdoors. Cass County coroner Jack Baumann ruled that death was due to burns, but said that a ruling on the cause of death will not be filed until the investigation is completed. State Police Detective Dale Douglass said the case is still under investigation and that the circumstances surrounding the incident were not fully determined. Officers said no trace of any fire other than that on the woman’s body could be found inside or out of the home, which is one and a half miles east of Lockport on the River Road. Born May 23, 1922, in Cass County, she was the daughter of Harry O. and Ferne Griffey Hildebran. Survivors with her parents with whom she resided are a son, Jeffery, at home; a brother, George R. Hildebran of Rt. 2, Brookston; and a sister, Mrs. Harriet Zook, 705 Stadium Place, Logansport. Funeral services were Wednesday afternoon in the Sullivan Funeral Home in Camden with the Rev. Duncan J. McNabb officiating. Interment was in Camden Cemetery.

Delphi Journal May 12, 1966