Three U.S. Marines Found Dead Near Military Base

Three U.S. Marines were found dead inside a car at a gas station in Hampstead, North Carolina, The Messenger reports.

The three deceased individuals, all Marine lance corporals, were found at a Speedway gas station approximately 40 minutes from Camp Lejeune.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of their deaths.

Foul play is not suspected, according to reports.

3 U.S. Marines found dead inside a car at a gas station in Hampstead, North Carolina. Cause of death unknown but officials say there's no indication of foul play

— BNO News (@BNONews) July 25, 2023

The Messenger reports:

The Marines were found after deputies from the Pender County Sheriff’s Office responded to a missing persons call. One of the Marines in the car was the man who had been reported missing.

“There’s nothing to believe it to be foul play or anything,” Sgt. Chester Ward of the Pender County Sheriff’s Department told the local Port City Daily. “We’re waiting for an autopsy report.”

The Defense Department has not announced the deaths publicly. A U.S. official with knowledge of the incident told The Messenger that the Marines’ families have been notified by U.S. military casualty assistance officers.

Friends and family posted messages of shock and expressions of love on Facebook for the three Marines.

Ward said no drugs were found in the vehicle.

The three Marines were identified in later reports.

Three young Marines mysteriously found dead in car at gas station by Camp Lejeune: authorities https://t.co/49xONboqie pic.twitter.com/oCVFdT1uXJ

— New York Post (@nypost) July 25, 2023

From the New York Post:

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 Cockery, 23, of Pottawatomie, Okla., and Ivan Garcia, 23, of Naples, Fla.