Shain Gandee’s cause of death is carbon monoxide poisoning, as was widely speculated by press after the Buckwild star, his uncle, and another man were found dead in a 1984 Bronco on Monday.
The three men had been missing for about 31 hours, last seen at a local bar indicated they’d planned to go off-roading. After all three were recovered, dead in the submerged SUV, reports suggested that a blocked tailpipe had resulted in the fatal incident while the three had been “mudding.”
Shain Gandee had been out in the very early hours Sunday with David Gandee, his uncle, and a friend, Donald Robert Myers. Today, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department in West Virginia confirmed that carbon monoxide poisoning had killed all three, saying:
“The manner of death is accidental and the cause was carbon monoxide poisoning for all three subjects.”
Kanawha officials also confirmed:
“The vehicle sat unevenly, but upright, and was partially submerged in deep mud… Mud was covering the lower part of the passenger side door of the vehicle, but the driver’s side of the vehicle was above the mud. The muffler of the vehicle was completely below the surface of the mud.”
While the family and friends of Shain Gandee, his uncle David and Myers are in mourning, the confirmation of cause of death may have been a small measure of comfort.
Second cousin Ashely Gandee Lewis reportedly said on Facebook:
“I just wanted to let everyone know that the family feels that Shain died peacefully in his sleep without pain or suffering. That it probably was carbon monoxide. They are making [arrangements] now for his funeral.”
Gandee Lewis continued:
“Nothing is confirmed but they are thinking Saturday. So private or public hasnt been decided I will try to keep everyone updated.”
Following Shain Gandee’s death, the future of Buckwild is presently unclear.