Found Deceased KS - Marilane Carter, 36, Overland Park, enroute to Birmingham, 1 Aug, call from Memphis, 2 Aug 2020

[oviedo]

This article is updated to say her vehicle was backed into the container
Authorities: Body believed to be missing Kansas woman likely died of carbon monoxide poisoning

I don’t like this one bit so I will await the autopsy results and I really want a re-enactment
JMO

 

[Sachi]

So how on earth did she manage to (partially) close the door(s) of the container?
Crawl out the back, climb over the roof to the front and vice versa?

I'm assuming that not both doors were open or the police would have seen that?

a will , a way. She , assuming LE is correct, found a container off of a high way in another state , on private property , gained enter by possibly opening a gate , opened said container Or it was visibly open When she saw it ... backed in her suv, perhaps enough room to slide out her side and partially closed the doors the best she could,
possible?
If she committed suicide , she did it in a very desperately determined manner in a foreign place, away from loved ones- away from where they live and where he works - thus, disassociating the physical loss and also away from her sibs and her parents. So very sad, such tremendous loss no matter where.

 

[DutchTreat]

Her backing into the container makes me wonder if there wasn't something else going on.

When you look at the picture of the container, you can see that the car wasn't backed into the container all the way.
I guess the nose of the car was very close to the door.

If you really want to kill yourself with carbon monoxide wouldn't you drive in nose first all the way to the back, climb through the rear end en close the container doors as far as possible? To keep as much carbon monoxide as possible in?

This looks like hiding, prepared to get out as fast as you can if nescessary. And peeking through the door(s) to see if anyone was coming?

What if she wanted to sleep for a while?

Can anyone tell me if it was still fully light when she got there?
And was it hot? Could she have wanted to keep the airco on?

 

[Starkville]

How did she know the shipping container was even there? That’s a pretty remote location. It seems to me that you’d have to have knowledge of their existence and availability. MOO

Also, I’d love to know if there were signs of another vehicle, two sets of tire tracks, etc.

 

[Clair Louise]

Depression is just awful and causes so much pain and suffering. I hope that she is at peace now.

 

[Sillybilly]

There is nothing in MSM or from LE to indicate that Marilane was taking any prescription medications or specifically Ambien. It crops up in many discussions when there is nothing to substantiate the speculation.

Please move on from that discussion.

Thank you.

 

[evilwise]

This article is updated to say her vehicle was backed into the container
Authorities: Body believed to be missing Kansas woman likely died of carbon monoxide poisoning

I'm willing to bet this is erroneous. Not only would it make every imaginable chain of events considerably more complicated, there's no reason I can think of that liquid would pool around the rear passenger tire of the car unless it had a terrible head gasket leak and even then it would have dripped behind the wheel. I guess the weight of the car could have created a lower spot but it seems very unlikely to me on multiple levels.

 

[NoSI]

a will , a way. She , assuming LE is correct, found a container off of a high way in another state , on private property , gained enter by possibly opening a gate , opened said container Or it was visibly open When she saw it ... backed in her suv, perhaps enough room to slide out her side and partially closed the doors the best she could,
possible?
If she committed suicide , she did it in a very desperately determined manner in a foreign place, away from loved ones- away from where they live and where he works - thus, disassociating the physical loss and also away from her sibs and her parents. So very sad, such tremendous loss no matter where.

Yes, one of the ways we classify the seriousness/lethality of suicide attempts is by determining if the attempt is a low rescuability attempt or a high rescuability attempt. In a high rescuability attempt the individual may attempt an overdose right before the spouse returns from work or sends a text to the spouse informing of the overdose. The spouse then calls 911 and the individual will get medical attention, is most often rescued, and will live. This decreases lethality of the attempt. Low rescuability is the opposite. Marilane's attempt, if that is what happened (which i strongly believe it did), would definitely be considered a low recueability attempt.

MOO.

 

[Fab]

So she backed her car in a container that barely left 6in on either side and somehow managed to get out and shut two heavy doors? We know from LE interviews (they said during 4-wheeler searches the containers were seen but passed over, in part, because doors were closed) and volunteer searchers that the doors were shut! Even if she had a sunroof and managed to crawl out and back in, there would be shuffle-type footprints all over in both the gravel/grass outside and on the front edge of the floor inside. There do not appear to be ANY Such footprints/disturbances in the photos that have been posted. The interior is very dusty/dirty. The tire tread marks show up very well. So would footprints. (A couple are visible—athletic type sole, man size. LE perhaps, tow truck operator?) The uncle said the doors were “partially” open. What does that mean? They would have had to be open at least as wide as the width of the container for the car to get through but common sense would dictate the driver would have opened the doors even wider before backing in. Something does not add up. Hope they don’t close this case!

 

[NoSI]

I don’t like this one bit so I will await the autopsy results and I really want a re-enactment
JMO

Yes, her mental status could have not been that bad if she was able to successfully back her SUV into the shipping container. That takes some skill...

 

[momrids6]

Her backing into the container makes me wonder if there wasn't something else going on.

When you look at the picture of the container, you can see that the car wasn't backed into the container all the way.
I guess the nose of the car was very close to the door.

If you really want to kill yourself with carbon monoxide wouldn't you drive in nose first all the way to the back, climb through the rear end en close the container doors as far as possible? To keep as much carbon monoxide as possible in?

This looks like hiding, prepared to get out as fast as you can if nescessary. And peeking through the door(s) to see if anyone was coming?

What if she wanted to sleep for a while?

Can anyone tell me if it was still fully light when she got there?
And was it hot? Could she have wanted to keep the airco on?

RBBM: This was my thought- even before "backed in" was mentioned. Was she tired, looking for dark, and somewhere to sleep? She had the A/C on- it's in the articles...

 

[BrownRice]

Please point me in the direction to some good articles or information.

O/T
I have an employee that I believe is suffering from some mental health issues. I never know what kind of mood she will come to work in or what mood she will be in after her lunch break. She has a hard time focusing on long task. She is emotional quite often. I have gently, brought up the idea she should talk to her Doctor about being so emotional. Needless to say, that did not go well. She does’t want to take meds. or does’t need them. Okay!

I would appreciate any information to help educate myself.

Maybe WS has a thread on this topic?

Thank you in advance!

Do you have an EAP plan at work (Employee Assistance Plan)? If so, refer her to that.

 

[NoSI]

I have a question. If her vehicle was backed into the container how did she manage to close the doors, even partially?

I am no expert in carbon monoxide poisoning, but could she have possibly prepared the car in a way prior to driving it into the shipping container where it didn't matter that much if the doors to the container were not closed? e. g. routing hose from exhaust through window into car and then blocking air of partially open window with something. Just thinking out loud.

 

[NoSI]

Since this whole thing STILL doesn't pass the smell test to me, I've asked these same questions.

I truly hope that the investigating team seeks proof of the mental illness(es) her husband and brother in law say that she had.

Proof is not always possible as individuals all too often suffer in silence due to a fear of stigma etc. We have so much more work to do....

 

[DutchTreat]

I am no expert in carbon monoxide poisoning, but could she have possibly prepared the car in a way prior to driving it into the shipping container where it didn't matter that much if the doors to the container were not closed? e. g. routing hose from exhaust through window into car and then blocking air of partially open window with something. Just thinking out loud.

I really, really wonder if she was the type of woman that knew much about carbon monoxide poisoning. She seems like a very gentle sweet woman. A loving mother and the kind of woman that relied on her husband for car stuff and technical things.

I think it's safe to say she never in a million years knew she was going to stumble upon unlocked shipping containers while being lost. And I really doubt that stumbling upon an unlocked shipping container made her right then and there decide that suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning was the thing to do.
No goodbye note. No 'mummy loves you so much, this is not your fault' etc.

Something is just not right.

 

[DutchTreat]

RBBM: This was my thought- even before "backed in" was mentioned. Was she tired, looking for dark, and somewhere to sleep? She had the A/C on- it's in the articles...

I didn't know had the A/C on. I can't read every article because I'm in Europe. It sometimes says 'access denied'.

 

[Tracey4AU]

Not discounting the possibility of mental illness itself nor the behaviors it can manifest, but this just seems like a LOT of trouble to go to in order to do something you could do in your own home/town/county/state. It’s just so sad all the way around.

 

[evilwise]

The doors wouldn't need to be fully closed for a person to accidentally die from carbon monoxide, especially if the car actually was backed in although I still can't imagine how a person could close the container doors without going to excessive effort to do so and it would negate the only reason I could imagine to back in in the first place, which is to be able to make a quick exit.

If someone really did know a lot about carbon monoxide I guess it might be an especially effective way to kill themselves but I really don't think that's what happened. I think she just wasn't thinking straight from lack of sleep, pulled in to try to rest and just didn't think about the carbon monoxide if she even knew about it to begin with.

This case keeps reminding me if Elisa Lam and in THAT case, I think someone came along and shut the door without looking in the water tank but I don't think someone would just shut the door off this shipping container without realizing there was an SUV inside. As far as the visibility of the tire tracks though, I'm sure those tracks are from the removal of the vehicle not from it initially being pulled in. There could have been week old tracks from Marilane that had blown away by now

 

[Mauig’ma]

Her backing into the container makes me wonder if there wasn't something else going on.

When you look at the picture of the container, you can see that the car wasn't backed into the container all the way.
I guess the nose of the car was very close to the door.

If you really want to kill yourself with carbon monoxide wouldn't you drive in nose first all the way to the back, climb through the rear end en close the container doors as far as possible? To keep as much carbon monoxide as possible in?

This looks like hiding, prepared to get out as fast as you can if nescessary. And peeking through the door(s) to see if anyone was coming?

What if she wanted to sleep for a while?

Can anyone tell me if it was still fully light when she got there?
And was it hot? Could she have wanted to keep the airco on?

This is exactly what I was thinking..

 

[momsof3]

@MelInTN, @MemPat, @MontereyMama - thank you all for your honest sharing. It is so hard to understand depression/mental illness from the outside. I truly think that those around Marilane did not understand the severity of what was going on in her mind. Or were not equipped to deal with it.

I don’t know that anyone will ever know if distorted thinking made an air conditioned car in a storage container seem “safe” or if it was a deliberate choice to die. I recall a family member saying “things deteriorated so fast.” I hope they can forgive themselves - I know I would second guess my decision not to accompany her - even if I had no idea - and come together to raise her beautiful children.

Whatever is true for Marilane, your posts reawakened my compassion towards someone close to me who is struggling and gave me some understanding. Thank you.

I see all these questions and comments about her mental state and so many people wanting proof. Yes, ideally she would have been found sooner in the search for her, but i don't find her actions to be questionable in any way. I, myself, struggle. And there is no 'proof', besides this post that I'm typing and what my husband can say about it. I can absolutely understand driving and feeling lost, even if it's a road I travel daily. The water, the hotel....none of it seems odd to me. Maybe she was praying at the hotel, asking God to save her from herself. Maybe she was showering, crying out in the shower one final time. Who knows. That's the thing with mental illness. It's sooooo often unseen by outsiders. We often mask it and mask it well, usually with a smile and a holy hug. Such a heartbreaking story.....

Thank you for the compassionate post. I have battled depression too, starting over 20 years ago. I know this thread is about Marilane, not about mental illness, but I would like to hear others’ thoughts as to why we mask our depression and anxiety.
Is it because we’re afraid of being a burden?

Feeling worthless, helpless and hopeless are inherent in clinical depression so I think people don't feel worthy of others' attention and don't feel it would help anyway.

MM, I'm sorry you've dealt with this for 20 years. I was fortunate more than forty years ago to be introduced to the work of Dr. Albert Ellis and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. You can read one of his first works, A New Guide to Rational Living online. I wish you the best on your journey. I promise to pray for you.