Three young Marines mysteriously found dead in car at gas station by Camp Lejeune: authorities
Three young US Marines were found dead inside a car at a North Carolina gas station Sunday morning, and authorities are still trying to figure out how they died.
“There’s nothing to believe it to be foul play or anything,” Sgt. Chester Ward of the Pender County Sheriff’s Department told ABC affiliate WTVD News. “We’re waiting for an autopsy report, but we have no idea of probably what happened.”
Ward said no drugs were found in the vehicle.
The grim discovery occurred when deputies responding to a missing person’s report found the three dead men in a four-door sedan parked outside a Speedway convenience store in Hampstead, about an hour’s drive from Camp Lejeune.
The bodies were found around 9 a.m. Sunday, the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.
The young Marines were identified as Tanner Kaltenberg, 19, of Madison, Wisc.; Merax Dockery, 23, of Pottawatomie, Okla., and Ivan Garcia, 23, of Naples, Fla.
All three were lance corporals, WTVD reported.
In a statement, Brig. Gen. Michael McWilliams, commanding officer of the Second Marine Logistics Group, said, “My deepest sympathy and condolences are extended to the family, friends and colleagues” of the dead men.
“Our focus is providing the necessary resources and support to those impacted by their tragic loss as they navigate this extremely difficult time,” he said.
The Marine Corps did not reply to a request for comment Tuesday from The Post.
He added, “Our focus is providing the necessary resources and support to those impacted by their tragic loss as they navigate this extremely difficult time.”
“[The] circumstances surrounding their deaths are currently under investigation,” according to the Marine Corps.
