Two people were found dead Sunday inside a vehicle at a North Canton park, according to police.
Just before 11 a.m. on Sunday, North Canton officers were called to Eastwoods Park for a report of a suspicious vehicle parked with its engine running, police said.
Officers located a 2004 Honda CRV with 22-year-old Erin Lewis and 24-year-old Malachi Dobbins unresponsive inside, police said.
Both Lewis and Dobbins were pronounced dead at the scene, and the North Canton Fire Department found the presence of carbon monoxide within the vehicle at levels exceeding what is considered safe, police said.
Responding personnel said the indications are consistent with an exhaust system issue.
The Stark County Coroner's Office determined Dobbins' cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning, but Lewis's cause of death is awaiting testing and analysis results, police said.
While those results are still pending, police said, "investigators have found no evidence to suggest circumstances different from those identified during the course of the investigation."
Police said all information gathered indicates Lewis and Dobbins' causes of death are not a criminal matter.
"As questions have been raised by members of the public regarding how carbon monoxide exposure can occur inside an idling vehicle, it is important to understand that carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that can accumulate when exhaust systems become damaged, leak, or otherwise fail to properly direct exhaust away from a vehicle's passenger compartment. Even when a vehicle is outdoors, certain mechanical failures can create dangerous conditions for occupants," North Canton police said in a statement.
