Marine Dies Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning In Idaho

Here’s another tragedy that could have been avoided: A young Marine died of carbon monoxide poisoning in his girlfriend’s apartment, which had a carbon monoxide detector with no batteries in it.

McQuen Forbush, 18, was on leave and staying in Meridian, Idaho. He was discovered dead Saturday, from what a coroner determined was carbon monoxide poisoning, according to NewsChannel 7. The deadly gas apparently leaked from a malfunctioning water heater that was located in the unit, the apartment of his girlfriend Bre Halowell.

http://www.nwcn.com/home/?fId=179392881&fPath=/news/local&fDomain=10227

The local fire chief told NewsChannel 7 that the apartment where Forbush died had a carbon monoxide alarm, but that its batteries had been taken out. Some people do that because they get annoyed when batteries get low and the alarm makes an annoying chirping sound, the chief said.

Forbush and Halowell both suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning, but she survived.  Halowell was interviewed by NewsChannel 7, and said that she and Forbush felt ill and dizzy when they fell asleep Friday night. The next morning when she woke up, she found Forbush on the floor. She could not find a pulse on him, according to NewsChannel 7.

http://www.nwcn.com/home/179036981.html

Halowell was hospitalized and released.

I guess the question now is who took the batteries out of the carbon monoxide alarm?