Posted 2009-02-06 1:50 PM (#98938) Subject: Reminder about CO2 monitors in LQs!!
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Posts: 1391 Location: North of Detroit, MI
This is a cross post from another forum that I visit.
Authorities in Scott County were called to the scene of what are believed to be carbon monoxide poisoning deaths Wednesday morning. The victims were participants in the Dixie National Wagon Train.
The whole idea of the Dixie National Wagon Train is to take an old fashioned wagon ride to the Dixie National Rodeo in Jackson. But the usually fun-filled journey turned deadly at the Coal Bluff Campground when a young couple was found dead in the living area of their horse trailer.
"We were called that two people were found unresponsive in the camp area where the Dixie National had camped that night," said Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee.
The victims were identified as William Scarbrough, 26, and his wife, Brandy, 25, of Philadelphia. The couple had three children.
A preliminary investigation points to a generator outside the trailer as the source.
"It looks like it came through a vent that was located on the horse trailer," said Lee. "The exhaust was pointed that way and then the exhaust would go up. That is what probably caused the deaths, but we are still investigating."
The couple was discovered by other campers early Wednesday when the campers woke up to cook breakfast and continue on the journey.
The couple has been camping out every night with up to 100 other participants who continued on their journey.
"If they were awake, they would have been sick and showed symptoms but unfortunately they were both asleep," said the sheriff.
The bodies have been sent to Jackson for an autopsy, so the cause of death can be verified. This is the first year Sheriff Lee remembers the trip taking this tragic of a turn.
The annual wagon train travels from Philadelphia to Jackson for the Dixie National Rodeo, which starts Thursday at the Coliseum.
Authorities believe carbon monoxide from a generator killed a Philadelphia couple traveling to Jackson for the Dixie National Rodeo this week.
The bodies of William Scarbrough, 27, and his wife, Brandy Scarbrough, 26, were found Wednesday morning in the living quarters of their horse trailer at Coal Bluff Park in Ludlow.
Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee said the Scarbroughs were with a trail ride group traveling from northern Scott County as part of the rodeo’s Dixie Wagon Train.
Lee said the group of about 100 had camped out Tuesday night at the park.
The Scarbroughs were last seen about 9:30 p.m. Between 5:30-6 a.m., someone tried to wake them for breakfast.
“When they never came out, someone in the trail ride went inside and found them unresponsive,” Lee said.
Authorities believe the primary source of carbon monoxide was a gasoline generator outside the trailer.
Lee said the generator’s exhaust fumes were vented through a pipe near the area where the couple slept.
A heater inside the trailer also could have emitted carbon monoxide, Lee said.
Scott County Coroner Joe Bradford said there were no signs of foul play or suicide. Autopsies are scheduled to be performed today.
Bradford didn’t know how the couple’s chihuahua survived. He said the dog was found inside the trailer with the couple.
“Someone said the dog looked like it was sick, but I couldn’t tell if it was sick or if it was just cold,” Bradford said. The Scarbroughs’ three children were not with them.
Mississippi Fair Commission Executive Director Mike Brinkley Jr. said there are five trail ride groups that come to Jackson from across the state. The Dixie Wagon Train is scheduled to arrive at the rodeo today, according to the rodeo Web site. “This has been a tradition that goes back many, many years,” he said.
Brinkley said he does not suspect any of the families staying in trailers on the Mississippi Fair campgrounds will be in danger of carbon monoxide because most have access to electricity.
Reminder about CO2 monitors in LQs!!
