HAMPSTEAD, NORTH CAROLINA: Three lance corporals of the US Marine were discovered unresponsive at around 9 am on Sunday, July 23, inside a privately owned four-door Sedan, parked at a Speedway gas station on Highway 17 in Hampstead, about 30 miles south of the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
Pender County Sheriff’s Department discovered the three men while responding to a missing persons call related to one of them. They were pronounced dead on the same day, and an investigation into the circumstances is ongoing, authorities confirmed. The marines in the car were Tanner J Kaltenberg, 19, of Madison, Wisconsin, Merax C. Dockery, 23, of Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, and Ivan R Garcia, 23, of Naples, Florida, who served as motor vehicle operators, working with the Combat Logistics Battalion 2, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, and 2nd Marine Logistics Group at Camp Lejeune, as noted by the US Marine Corps.
Who was Ivan R Garcia?
Raised in Naples, Ivan entered active duty service in July 2019. He held the same position as the other two deceased men. Before joining the Marines, Ivan attended Lely High School in Naples. He recently shared photos of himself dressed in uniform, including one in which he posed on a Tucker Sno-Cat.
On Tuesday, July 25, his devastated aunt, Rosely Garcia, paid him an emotional tribute by sharing a compilation of adorable images with her nephew with the heartbreaking caption, "My baby, my love, what a vacuum you have left, and look how you came without knowing it was the final trip I would see you. Now who will I fight with? Who will I scold? Today I can't believe he is not here, oh my god, how painful my beautiful boy, why did you leave me." The grieving aunt also spoke to The US Sun, where she remembered him as an "exemplary" person who respected his elders and was affectionate and friendly. "He was very special to us, his relatives were very happy, he liked to help others, he liked to spend time with his family, he was not a problematic boy," Rosely said, adding "For me, Ivan, like his aunt, was all my heart. My mother, who is his grandmother, is devastated. Ivan my boy, we will miss you. You were and will always be my beautiful boy."
What did the officials say concerning the mysterious deaths?
Officials have launched an investigation into the case because the cause of their deaths wasn't immediately clear, as per Sergeant Chester Ward of the Pender County Sheriff’s Office. Ward also noted that no drugs were found in the vehicle, and the department does not "suspect anything as far as foul play in that matter." "We’re waiting for an autopsy report, but we have an idea of probably what happened," he added. The three Marines' commanding general, Brigadier General Michael E McWilliams, also mourned their deaths, saying, "Our focus is providing the necessary resources and support to those impacted by their tragic loss as they navigate this extremely difficult time."
