© Kris Craig/The Providence JournalThe house at 21 Opechee Drive, Barrington, Rhode Island.
The Barrington police do not suspect foul play in the deaths of the Haley, 97, of Barrington, and Williams, 97, of East Providence.
The women were not found until Saturday morning when Haley's neighbor on Opechee Drive looked outside his window, saw something that prompted him to take a closer look and found Williams face down at the rear of her vehicle in the driveway around 8:11 a.m. Haley was subsequently found in the garage.
The police believe the women, who spent hours exposed to the cold before they were found, died of hypothermia. With arctic air flowing into the region from Canada, temperatures were well below freezing overnight.
The women were both taken to Rhode Island Hospital on Saturday morning and pronounced dead a short time later.
Calling the incident tragic, Barrington Police Chief John LaCross said it appears the twins were returning to Haley's home around 8:30 p.m. on Friday after a dinner out locally with their 89-year-old younger sister, who lives at another home in Barrington.
"At this time investigators believe that foul play was not involved and Ms. Williams may have fallen in the driveway walking to her car. Ms. Haley may have tripped on a rug on the floor of the garage as she attempted to enter her house to call for assistance,'' he said in a statement.
The third sister was apparently not with her sisters when they fell. Her name has not been released.
Family members gathering at Haley's red brick-and-clapboard home overlooking the water in Barrington said they were still too stunned and upset to talk about the sisters. Devastated neighbors returning from paying their respects were in tears Sunday morning.
The cause of death has not yet been determined, but the police said the "extreme cold temperatures that evening may have been a factor.''
Apparently nothing was taken from the women's pocketbooks, which helped police to conclude there was no foul play.
"On behalf of the men and women of the Barrington Police Department, our deepest sympathies and condolences are extended to the Haley and Williams' families during their tragic loss,'' La Cross said.
In 1995, John W. "Jack'' Haley Jr. of the same address on Opechee Drive died, leaving behind his wife, Jean, and three sons. He was described as an Army captain in World War II who had been instrumental in liberating concentration camps in Belgium and later worked at C&C Yacht, Portsmouth.
A family member said on Sunday it was too soon to talk about the lives led by the twin sisters.
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