This afternoon, authorities in the West Virginia county where Buckwild star Shain Gandee was found dead confirmed the MTV star's cause of death was by carbon monoxide poisoning.
"The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office can now report partial findings from the autopsies of Shain Lelyn Gandee, David Dwight Gandee, and Donald Robert Myers," Corporal Brian Humphreys said in an email. "The manner of death is accidental, and the cause was carbon monoxide poisoning for all three subjects."
Gandee, his uncle, and a friend were found in Gandee's 1984 Ford Bronco on Monday morning, 31 hours after they went missing.
"The vehicle and bodies were found by one of Shain Gandee's friends who was searching the trails and ridges in the area for him and the others," Humphreys said yesterday.
"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." Humphreys added, "The muffler of the vehicle was completely below the surface of the mud."
Because the tailpipe was submerged in mud, it's believed that the car's exhaust leaked into the cabin of the vehicle, poisoning the three men who are believed to have been "muddin,'" or off-roading, at the time.
MTV, the network that broadcasts Buckwild, said in a statement yesterday, "We are shocked and saddened by the terrible news about Shain Gandee, and those involved in this tragic incident. We are waiting for more information but at this time, our main concern is for the Gandee family and their friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Shain had a magnetic personality, with a passion for life that touched everyone he met and we will miss him dearly."