A couple in Georgia was found dead inside a boat on a lake over Memorial Day weekend.
Someone requested Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources to perform a welfare check on the boat around 8 p.m. on Monday. The boat was anchored off the Three Sisters Island chain in Forsyth County.
Rangers with the department rushed over to the boat only to find two bodies inside.
Deputies said that the couple was found in the front cabin.
Major Stephen Adams, with the Law Enforcement Division of the department, said that it appears carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause of death.
Dane Michael with Marina Motorsports told the broadcaster that carbon monoxide alarms are a critical safety component on boats.
“It looks for the fumes and it sets off an alarm. It’s the same that could happen in a house or anywhere else and that’s why they put the hardware on the boats to look for that,” said Michael.
It’s not clear if the couple’s boat had an alarm but the alarm wasn’t working or if it didn’t have an alarm.
Major Adams noted that carbon monoxide is so dangerous because once people start reacting to it, it’s too late.
“You don’t even know that you are being overcome with the effects of it until possibly it’s too late,” said Major Adams.
Autopsies are planned on both bodies to confirm the causes of death.