Three Marines found dead in car in parking lot of convenience store

Three U.S. Marines were found dead inside a parked car at a Speedway convenience store about 30 miles from Camp Lejeune over the weekend, according to law enforcement authorities.

>> Read more trending news

The Marines were identified as Lance Cpl. Tanner J. Kaltenberg, 19, from Madison, Wisconsin; Lance Cpl. Merax C. Dockery, 23, from Pottawatomie, Oklahoma; and Lance Cpl. Ivan R. Garcia, 23, from Naples, Florida.

According to the Pender County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were responding to a report of a missing person for one of the men when they found the three at about 9 a.m. Sunday at a Speedway convenience store in Hampstead, North Carolina, WSOC-TV reported.

According to law enforcement, the men were found unresponsive in the car.

Sgt. Chester Ward of the Pender County Sheriff’s Office told The Associated Press that no drugs were found in the vehicle and that the sheriff’s office does not “suspect anything as far as foul play in that matter.”

“It seemed like it was more like an accidental death,” Ward said on Tuesday.

The men were motor vehicle operators with the Combat Logistics Battalion 2, Combat Logistics Regiment 2 and 2nd Marine Logistics Group at Camp Lejeune, according to First Lt. Raymond Fullbright, of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group.

“My deepest sympathy and condolences are extended to (their) family, friends, and colleagues,” said Brig. Gen. Michael E. McWilliams, commanding general of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group. “Our focus is providing the necessary resources and support to those impacted by their tragic loss as they navigate this extremely difficult time.”

Heather Dockery, Lance Corporal Dockery’s mother, told The New York Times in a phone interview on Tuesday that her son “was a great kid, and I’m very proud of him.”

Autopsy results are pending, according to the sheriff’s office.