(La Porte County, IN) - More details are coming out on the suspected deaths by carbon monoxide poisoning outside La Porte last month.

 

Sheriff John Boyd says there were calls about a husband and wife and their 25-year-old son not being seen or showing up for work for a couple of days.

 

Officers went inside their home on 350 North in Center Township, but they couldn’t stay in for very long because of the effects on their breathing from carbon monoxide levels 500 times above normal. After getting some fresh air, the officers went back in and brought out the young man who was barely breathing with paramedics on their way.

 

“The man seemingly started breathing a little more normal but not much. He couldn’t speak, only mumble,” Boyd said.

60-year-old Harrison Russell and his 56-year-old wife, Barbara, were deceased in their upstairs bedroom. Their son was later released from the hospital.

 

The poisonous gas leaked from a cracked heat exchanger in the furnace. As a result, the old furnace has been replaced with a new one donated by a heating and cooling business.

 

Sgt. Nathan Battleday and Deputies Justin Phillips and Josh Smith, along with Sgt. James Arnold are nominated for lifesaver awards.

 

“This just shows how quickly it can go from dull and mundane in law enforcement to rapidly being placed in a situation where people’s lives are on the line,” Boyd said.