Three US Marines were found dead at a gas station in North Carolina Sunday and an investigation is underway as to the cause, The Messenger has learned.
The three —all Marine lance corporals — were found dead after law enforcement officials responded to the Speedway gas station in Hampstead, North Carolina, roughly 40 minutes from Camp Lejeune where the Marines were assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 2.
The Marines were found after deputies from the Pender County Sheriff’s Office responded to a missing persons call. One of the Marines in the car was the man who had been reported missing.
“There’s nothing to believe it to be foul play or anything,” Sgt. Chester Ward of the Pender County Sheriff’s Department told the local Port City Daily. “We’re waiting for an autopsy report.”
The Defense Department has not announced the deaths publicly. A U.S. official with knowledge of the incident told The Messenger that the Marines’ families have been notified by U.S. military casualty assistance officers.
Friends and family posted messages of shock and expressions of love on Facebook for the three Marines.
Officials at Headquarters Marine Corps and Camp Lejeune did not respond to requests for information.
