“Three US Marines Found Dead in North Carolina Car, Victims of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning”

Deputies from the Pender County Sheriff’s Office found the three men on Sunday morning inside a privately owned Lexus sedan that was parked outside a Speedway petrol station in the coastal community of Hampstead.

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Autopsies conducted by the North Carolina medical examiner’s office on Wednesday confirmed that all three deaths were a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, as stated by the sheriff’s office.

Sergeant Chester Ward from the Pender County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the incident appears to be accidental.

Investigators have found no evidence to suggest any other cause of death, such as suicide.

The three lance corporals, identified by the US Marine Corps as Tanner J Kaltenberg, 19, of Madison, Wisconsin, Merax C Dockery, 23, of Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, and Ivan R Garcia, 23, of Naples, Florida, were stationed at the nearby Camp Lejeune, which is located 47 kilometers northeast of the petrol station.

They served as motor vehicle operators with the Combat Logistics Battalion 2, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, and 2nd Marine Logistics Group.

Sheriff Alan Cutler expressed his sadness over the tragic deaths of these three young men who served their country honorably. He extended his thoughts and prayers to their families and colleagues during this difficult time.

Sunday morning, the mother of one of the Marines contacted the sheriff’s office after her son failed to arrive on a flight home the previous night, prompting a search. The missing Marine was found in the vehicle along with the other two men.

Heather Glass, the mother of Merax C Dockery, stated that she and another relative were waiting for her son at the Oklahoma City airport on Saturday evening, but he never arrived. Concerned, Glass contacted North Carolina hospitals, jails, the sheriff’s office, and her son’s sergeant at Camp Lejeune to initiate the search.

Glass assumed that her son’s cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning due to the circumstances surrounding the deaths of all three Marines.

Excessive inhalation of carbon monoxide leads to loss of consciousness in victims.

Prior to the autopsy results, Sergeant Chester Ward had already stated that the sheriff’s office did not suspect foul play in the incident.

Glass expressed relief, saying, “I was just worried that it was something worse.” She feels at peace knowing her son passed away peacefully in his sleep.

Merax C Dockery, the youngest of five siblings, grew up in nearby Seminole. He joined the Marines for personal growth and the opportunity to travel, with the possibility of pursuing a military career.

Funeral arrangements are currently being made, with the dates dependent on when her son’s body can be released to the family.

Glass fondly remembers her son as a kind-hearted individual who was well-liked by everyone. She describes him as a “real good kid.”