Carbon monoxide built up in a motorboat killing all four occupants after they pulled a cover over the boat to shield themselves from a storm, authorities said.
Autopsies have not been scheduled, but authorities believed the boaters died from carbon monoxide poisoning, the Clearwater County sheriff’s office said Tuesday.
A marine deputy found the boat in Dworshak Reservoir while on patrol Monday morning, the sheriff’s office said. The boaters could have died as early as 11 p.m. Sunday, sheriff’s deputy Randy Herman said.
The motorboat eventually struck the shoreline and sank, authorities said.
The sheriff’s office identified the victims as Jeffery R. Meredith, 36, Natalie A. Meredith, 34, their 12-year-old son Jonathan Smith, and Kyle D. Hayes, who would have turned 13 on Wednesday. All were from Dayton, Wash.