Found Deceased KS - Marilane Carter, 36, Overland Park, enroute to Birmingham, 2 Aug 2020 #2

[happyday]

BNSF is Burlington Northern Santa Fe

Ah thanks!

 

[evilwise]

Considering this blog post was from over 6 months ago and there has been no confirmation whatsoever since then, it seems unlikely to be accurate.

 

[Betty P]

Considering this blog post was from over 6 months ago and there has been no confirmation whatsoever since then, it seems unlikely to be accurate.

It certainly seems possible nothing came from that information, but the incident report seems valid. I'd like to follow through and check.

It was an extremely unusual "suicide". I don't see how Marilane Carter was able to drive her car into the container and close it behind the car. Those are big heavy doors and they latch from the outside, not the inside. The area had also been recently searched by LE. It wasn't until the uncle arrived that he chose to open the doors of the container.

Just seems worth a follow up, JMO.

ETA: Does anyone know the location of the container where she was found? I've read general descriptions in the news media of it being in West Memphis, AR, but nothing specific. TIA.

 

[Quill]

It certainly seems possible nothing came from that information, but the incident report seems valid. I'd like to follow through and check.

It was an extremely unusual "suicide". I don't see how Marilane Carter was able to drive her car into the container and close it behind the car. Those are big heavy doors and they latch from the outside, not the inside. The area had also been recently searched by LE. It wasn't until the uncle arrived that he chose to open the doors of the container.

Just seems worth a follow up, JMO.

ETA: Does anyone know the location of the container where she was found? I've read general descriptions in the news media of it being in West Memphis, AR, but nothing specific. TIA.

If I recall correctly, weren't the doors were reported to be ajar? Since the police were not the ones who found here and the uncle was, we only have his word to go on.

 

[Betty P]

If I recall correctly, weren't the doors were reported to be ajar? Since the police were not the ones who found here and the uncle was, we only have his word to go on.

I don't know. I've read a few articles about the discovery and have only seen that the area was searched before by LE and that the uncle arrived and went to the container and opened it to discover the car, etc. ICBW, of course.

 

[spiritseeker31]

Like some of the others here, I've always felt this case was suspicious. I may have posted back when it happened.
Even if the doors were partway closed - how?
<Modsnip>

 

[Quill]

I don't know. I've read a few articles about the discovery and have only seen that the area was searched before by LE and that the uncle arrived and went to the container and opened it to discover the car, etc. ICBW, of course.

I followed it from the beginning. Without digging back, and based on my memory, I do think it was reported that the doors were not locked from the outside. IMO, that would have instantly indicated foul play since they lock from the outside. This is JMO based on my memory of events as they unfolded.

 

[Betty P]

I followed it from the beginning. Without digging back, and based on my memory, I do think it was reported that the doors were not locked from the outside. IMO, that would have instantly indicated foul play since they lock from the outside. This is JMO based on my memory of events as they unfolded.

But were they latched or just pulled closed or left partly open? It may not mean anything. She may have committed suicide by leaving her vehicle running while inside the shipping container. But subsequent events after her body was discovered may also be suspicious, esp. if her uncle committed suicide.

 

[spiritseeker31]

Chief Todd Grooms, of the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department, told the Star the vehicle’s ignition was in the “on” position when the car was found, and there was evidence it had been running while closed inside the container.
Marilane Carter: Carbon monoxide likely killed missing Kansas mom found in shipping container

If the doors of the shipping container were closed or open, I still have questions.

It was shown shortly after she was found that once she pulled the SUV into the shipping container, she wouldn't have been able to open the car doors. There was a sun roof though, but no shoe prints on the dusty car.
If the shipping container doors were found wide open, how would asphyxiation happen? For example for someone to be asphyxiated in a garage, the garage door must be closed.

 

[iamnotagolem]

Chief Todd Grooms, of the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department, told the Star the vehicle’s ignition was in the “on” position when the car was found, and there was evidence it had been running while closed inside the container.
Marilane Carter: Carbon monoxide likely killed missing Kansas mom found in shipping container

If the doors of the shipping container were closed or open, I still have questions.

It was shown shortly after she was found that once she pulled the SUV into the shipping container, she wouldn't have been able to open the car doors. There was a sun roof though, but no shoe prints on the dusty car.
If the shipping container doors were found wide open, how would asphyxiation happen? For example for someone to be asphyxiated in a garage, the garage door must be closed.

If the doors to the shipping container were open surely LE would have looked inside, right? Because they searched the area but didn’t open the container. If they’re searching for a missing person and the container is open then I would think they would at least peek in, right?

But how did the doors get closed?

Also, did they ever investigate whether there was a carbon monoxide leak in her car? Remember her calling her mom because she was lost? Maybe she was already being poisoned? She stopped at the hotel for only a couple of hours, maybe she started feeling better and set out again? Didn’t her entire trip take about twice the amount of time it should have? Did they ever figure out where she was the whole time?

sorry I’m not adding much but more questions.

 

[DerrenAnker]

The shipping container certainly seemed too small for her to do much once the car was inside. If you look at the tire tracks, it looks like they're quite close to the sides.

EDIT: That said, it does look like she angled the car so it would be closer on the passenger, and since she was quite thin, maybe it's possible she could have squeezed out of the driver's side door.

 

[MrsWatson]

Oh, this whole case was weird from the go.
<Modsnip>

And what was that search warrant about?

 

[evilwise]

I posted this in the first thread but I felt like I should post it again, a photo of the interior of a GMC Acadia like Marilane's with the hatch open and the second and third row seats folded flat

As you can see it would be very easy to go out the hatch to pull the shipping container doors mostly closed. Also worth reiterating is that in addition to the ignition being on, I noticed in the photos a pool of liquid near the front left tire that I believe was probably condensation from the air conditioner compressor having been running.

I'm not 100% convinced this want just an accidental death by someone extremely sleep deprived looking for a cool place to sleep in their car but I am 99% sure her uncle-in-law didn't chase her across the country, drug her, plant her in a shipping container to die from CO2 and then go back home for several weeks before going back again to pretend to be the one who discovered her. I'm not convinced even the report of his suicide is accurate let alone that it was following the serving of a search warrant, which of it exists is quite possibly unrelated to Marilane.

 

[iamnotagolem]

I posted this in the first thread but I felt like I should post it again, a photo of the interior of a GMC Acadia like Marilane's with the hatch open and the second and third row seats folded flat

As you can see it would be very easy to go out the hatch to pull the shipping container doors mostly closed. Also worth reiterating is that in addition to the ignition being on, I noticed in the photos a pool of liquid near the front left tire that I believe was probably condensation from the air conditioner compressor having been running.

I'm not 100% convinced this want just an accidental death by someone extremely sleep deprived looking for a cool place to sleep in their car but I am 99% sure her uncle-in-law didn't chase her across the country, drug her, plant her in a shipping container to die from CO2 and then go back home for several weeks before going back again to pretend to be the one who discovered her. I'm not convinced even the report of his suicide is accurate let alone that it was following the serving of a search warrant, which of it exists is quite possibly unrelated to Marilane.

I don’t disagree with it being super unlikely that the uncle chased her across the country.<Modsnip> We don’t know what the search warrant was in relation to, do we?

I just think the entire timeline, method, location, etc is all bizarre.

 

[MrsWatson]

I don’t disagree with it being super unlikely that the uncle chased her across the country. <Modsnip> We don’t know what the search warrant was in relation to, do we?

I just think the entire timeline, method, location, etc is all bizarre.

Agree, I wasn't trying to shade her uncle, at all, it's just the whole thing just seems off.

I think this may be one of those cases where we may never have a definitive answer.

I hope Marilane is as peace.

 

[Deleted member 272036]

It has been almost a year. Marilane's case is what drew me to Websleuths. her case still doesn't make sense to me, and I don't accept the "official" explanation.

 

[Deleted member 272036]

Am I correct in remembering that the container doors were shut? Or partially shut?

If so, does a police report mention handprints or fingerprints on the hood of the car?

Sorry. Late night, mind wandering. It just seems like Marilane's case was shut down so quickly.

 

[neesaki]

Omg,I thought this case had been closed. Then I saw @watcher9 had liked an earlier post of mine. Thank you btw! So I have a lot of catching up to do. Though I’m behind, I always thought this case was suspicious, with many unanswered questions..

 

[Andreee]

Omg,I thought this case had been closed. Then I saw @watcher9 had liked an earlier post of mine. Thank you btw! So I have a lot of catching up to do. Though I’m behind, I always thought this case was suspicious, with many unanswered questions..

Same, just seeing this resolution now. An unusual place for sure to find poor Marilane, so glad her uncle had the smart idea to look where noone else had! A note for all LE and other searchers of the missing to not overlook anything!

Crittenden County authorities find body, vehicle matching missing Kansas woman

8/18/20

CRITTENDEN COUNTY, Ark. — The Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department said a body believed to be a missing Kansas woman was found inside her vehicle Tuesday.

The vehicle, with the remains inside, was found inside a shipping container in a remote field, down a gravel road about a quarter of a mile off Interstate 55 in eastern Arkansas.

Those remains are believed to belong to Marilane Carter, who was last seen in West Memphis, Arkansas on Aug. 2.

[..]

Family and law enforcement have been searching the area for days, most recently in the Mississippi River.

Grooms said investigators had seen the shipping containers in the field previously, but hadn’t thought to look inside.

“I just never would have dreamed that her vehicle would have been up inside one of them,” Grooms said.

According to the sheriff’s office, it was Carter’s uncle who finally looked inside the shipping container. Carter’s family came to the Memphis area over the weekend to search for her, and everyone returned home except her uncle.

Tuesday morning, he was driving and walking around the area where Carter’s phone was last pinged. He stumbled upon three big containers in a field, and the door on one of the containers was open, authorities said.

He looked inside and found a vehicle matching the description of Carter’s vehicle, they said. He also found a body inside the car before calling the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department.
_________________________

A video news report at the link above shows good footage of the scene and also MC's vehicle being hauled away from the secluded area. There appear to be 3 containers that seem to have been there stored there for some time.

I really don't know how MC found [stumbled upon] these containers....

Wow, maybe it seems obvious now, and hindsight is always 20/20 but I would think those three storage units would've been looked at closer during the first search!

 

[Andreee]

from last thread:

We just never know what someone is going through, inside their head. And too often it is easy to blame those left behind, and suggest that maybe the spouse was to blame. Often times, the issue is brought into a marriage, already a full-blown problem, and nothing a spouse could do or say would stop it.

I agree, it is not fair for any outsiders to judge anything regarding Marilane's suicide. We have no right to blame anyone nor should we speculate.