Updated at 2:25 p.m.

WINDSOR — Although carbon monoxide is suspected by police, it could take weeks to determine what killed three people found over the weekend inside a Jeep off Crosby Road in Windsor.

A spokesman for the Maine State Medical Examiner’s office said Monday that further study was needed to determine how the three people died. Blood work and other test results will likely take several weeks to be finalized, the spokesman said.

Reginald Gay, 41, his wife, 33-year-old Samantha Davis-Gay, both of Windsor, and a friend, Luke Thompson, 22, of China, were found dead inside Reginald Gay’s Jeep in a stream off Crosby Road. The trio took the Jeep off-roading Friday evening and were discovered by concerned friends Saturday afternoon when they did not return.

Capt. Daniel Davies of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Monday that police believe the three died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The back end of Gay’s Jeep, including the exhaust tail pipe, was submerged in water, Davies said. The Jeep’s side windows were down when the bodies were discovered, Davies said, but there was no mud in the Jeep, indicating that the windows had been up at some point during the outing.

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Davies said the victims may have lowered the windows in an attempt to vent fumes leaking into the cabin.

State Toxicologist Andrew Smith said carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a blocked exhaust pipe is not uncommon, but is typically associated with winter weather. People stranded during storms often run their vehicle’s motor to stay warm, Smith said. If the exhaust pipe is blocked by snow, exhaust fumes can seep into the cabin and carbon monoxide can poison the occupants, Smith said.
 

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WINDSOR — Reginald “Skip” Gay, his wife, Samantha Davis Gay, and their friend, Luke Thompson, went out for some off-roading Friday night, and never came back.

The three, whose identities were released Sunday after next of kin were notified by police, were found dead Saturday evening, sitting in the Gays’ custom Jeep, which appeared to have gotten stuck in a bog under power lines off Crosby Road, where the couple had a home.

Preliminary findings, according to Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Dan Davies, suggest the three may have succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning. All three were still seated normally when they were discovered in the Jeep Wrangler and had no visible signs of trauma.

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Reginald Gay, 41, was driving, Thompson, 22, of China, was in the front passenger seat, and Samantha Davis Gay, 33, was seated on top of a cooler in the back.

“It appears the Jeep may have gotten stuck in the bog,” Davies said in a news release. “Speculation is that efforts by Reginald Gay to get free from the mire by accelerating caused excessive exhaust to enter the passenger compartment and overcome the occupants. Only the two front windows were open when the Jeep was located. With no direct air flow to remove the fumes, and the V-8 revving excessively, the survivability rating under those circumstances would be grim at best.”

The Gays lived a short distance down Crosby Road from the bog where the vehicle became stuck, in a home with multiple four-wheel-drive vehicles in the yard. Local residents said Reginald Gay was deeply into off-roading.
Photographs of Skip Gay competing in mud runs and “tough truck” events in modified Jeeps are featured on multiple websites.

Davies said the custom Jeep they were in was outfitted with a powerful V-8 engine and oversized mud tires.
The trio had left the Gays’ Crosby Road home around 7 p.m. Friday.

Having not heard anything from them, a family member used another Jeep to search for the group. The relative spotted the group’s blue and white Jeep sitting in a bog at the bottom of a ravine about 300 yards off Crosby Road shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s extremely unfortunate these three people lost their lives on the eve of Mother’s Day,” Davies said. “All three victims have mothers who live locally and won’t be celebrating this year. It’s very sad.”

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Weeks Mills resident Don Audet heard about the incident Sunday morning before he got to work at Hussey’s General Store, the local hub of activity in Windsor. He said the Gays are good people, though he didn’t know Samantha personally.

“Skip was the kind of guy who would do anything for anybody,” Audet said. “Generous. Tall and rugged-looking, like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with, but really he was as sweet as pie. One of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. Very outgoing. You never saw him without a smile on his face.”

Audet said when he heard about the deaths, it brought a tear to his eye, as it made him reflect on the death of his own son, who was in a car accident many years ago.

He said Gay was really into off-roading, and also into remote-control vehicles.

Members of the Maine Warden Service assisted sheriff’s deputies in accessing the site. The Jeep was removed from the water by Ready Road Towing of Augusta.

The medical examiner’s office responded to the scene to take possession of the bodies for positive identification and to determine the cause of death. The medical examiner’s office could not immediately be reached for information on the cause of death of the victims Sunday evening.

Keith Edwards — 621-5647
kedwards@centralmaine.com


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