A southeastern Arkansas sheriff has requested that state police investigate the deaths of a man and a woman found Saturday inside a car.
Mary Elizabeth Manues, 38, and Timothy Lane, 37, both of Almyra, were found near their small Arkansas County hometown, about 55 miles southeast of Little Rock, Sheriff Todd Wright said.
A deputy went to the scene after a caller reported first seeing the car driving along a flooded street on Friday, then seeing the car on the side of the road on Saturday, Wright said.
The deputy was unable to rouse the man and woman inside the car, then broke a window to enter the car and discovered both were dead.
Flooding had subsided, but evidence showed water entered the passenger area of the vehicle, Wright said. The sheriff said he suspects that carbon monoxide poisoning may be a factor.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Liz Chapman confirmed the agency would conduct a criminal investigation.
The bodies are being sent to the state medical examiner's office for autopsies.
Metro on 12/25/2017