‘TIMELESS AND TRAGIC’

Cause of Death Revealed for 3 Marines Found Near Camp Lejeune

The three Marines’ bodies were found on Sunday in a car at a gas station near their base.

The trio of U.S. Marines found dead at a gas station near Camp Lejeune, where they were stationed, died of carbon monoxide poisoning, an autopsy report has determined. The three lance corporals—Tanner Kaltenberg, Merax Dockery and Ivan Garcia—were discovered on Sunday in a car in Hampstead, North Carolina. Investigators said early on that no evidence pointed to foul play and no drugs were found in the car but their cause of death initially appeared to be a mystery. “I am saddened by the timeless and tragic death of these three young men, who served our country honorably,” Pender County Sheriff Alan W. Cutler said in a statement. Before the autopsy report was released, Genesis Dockery, the sister of one of the Marines, told The Messenger that the three soldiers appeared as if they were “asleep” when authorities came across them.