Found Deceased NC - Karin Ottenberg, 49, mom of 2, vehicle, phone & purse were found at her home in Sunset Park nbhd, Wilmington, 22 Dec 2024

[Gemmie]

this one is very strange to me and I'm taking the "protection" of the family to mean something they aren't willing to say.

I think it's too new to know what they'll do. They are processing grief, and just might decide to reveal more when they are ready. All MOO

 

[KooshBall]

Maybe she jumped? I don't understand why an accident would be kept quiet. If anything, explaining how they happen could prevent someone from a similar fate. Very strange. I am sad for her children.

 

[Knox]

How about a cistern, something that collects rainwater? Do they have those in NC?

 

[nightowl1975]

Maybe she jumped? I don't understand why an accident would be kept quiet. If anything, explaining how they happen could prevent someone from a similar fate. Very strange. I am sad for her children.

Maybe she was doing something for her kids, and family doesn’t want them to blame themselves for her accidental death? Decorating something for them, falls, dies… that’s all I can think of that might explain the secrecy.

Depending on the roofline, maybe she climbed out of a window to hang lights/decorations? It would be strange not to leave the window open though, which you’d think would be a clue to searchers. This makes me think maybe it was a fall just somewhere in the yard itself, maybe hitting her head on something? Very odd.

 

[jillolantern]

but many details surrounding it are being kept private to protect her family.

I can't imagine how details of an accidental death would harm the family. What is there to protect? Suspicious. IMO

 

[red carpet fiber]

I can't imagine how details of an accidental death would harm the family. What is there to protect? Suspicious. IMO

Maybe she was intoxicated?

 

[Gemmie]

this one is very strange to me and I'm taking the "protection" of the family to mean something they aren't willing to say.

I don't know that it's protecting the family. I'm taking it the way it was stated in MSM. IOW... if the family wants that info out, it'll come out, but it's at their discretion, not LE's. If it was my family I'd prefer that *I* could control what information was put out into MSM, and not LE's decision. I like that. Sure, we all want to know but do we need to know? Nope. JMO

“Karin’s family have the full details, but ultimately it is up to them as far as what detail they want to provide,”

Wilmington PD say missing woman’s death was accident | Port City Daily

WILMINGTON — An investigation into a woman’s recent death after going missing over the holidays is no longer active as the death is being considered an accident. READ MORE: 49-year-old missing woman…

portcitydaily.com

 

[Gemmie]

Karin's obituary below. I knew there was a reason I felt a soft spot in my heart for her, now I know why.

An animal lover at heart, Karin opened her home to various creatures, from worms to cats, dogs, and even tadpoles.

https://www.wilmingtoncares.com/obituaries/Karin-Rochelle-Ottenberg?obId=34272022

 

[Carolinamomx4]

August 11th, 2025 autopsy report findings are finally released, news article linked below.

Things just aren't adding up for me. The cause of death was labeled as asphyxia via drowning and noted pulmonary edema - she was said to have been found head down, curled in a rain barrel outside her home. Investigators told reporters they saw no signs of foul play and offered the explanation that she “reached over the deck rail and down into the barrel for something when she fell in.”

The noted dimensions pertaining to the barrel are as follows: Top opening width - 18", Barrel height - 40", Depth of water in barrel - 18"

• Opening: 18 inches across - that’s narrow. Most adults would have a very hard time getting through that head first without intentionally angling themselves. Falling “accidentally” through said opening from deck above, would require just the right trajectory and body alignment.
• Height: 40 inches tall. Even if she did manage to slip her head, shoulders, arms and half her torso through the narrow opening and inside the barrel; her waist, her legs and her feet would have been outside the barrel opening.
• Water depth: 18 inches deep. Yes, she could drown in that amount of water - however, given the above factors - her face would have to be submerged the entire time, with no ability to move the rest of her body or push up with her arms or cause the barrel to fall over (was the barrel stationary/attached to something?). Drowning is possible — especially if someone’s unconscious, highly intoxicated or having a medical event — but most likely not a casual “oops, fell in” moment.
• Body position in report: Curled inside, head down. That’s not a natural “fall and stay there” position for a conscious adult. It sounds more like placed that way.

The “no foul play” conclusion feels lazy, because at minimum this scenario should raise red flags about incapacitation — medical event, intoxication, or external force — before she ended up face-down in 18" of water. Also, I'm curious if what she was said to have been reaching for was found in the barrel as well.

Autopsy report released for woman found dead in rain barrel

 

[lonetraveler]

August 11th, 2025 autopsy report findings are finally released, news article linked below.

Things just aren't adding up for me. The cause of death was labeled as asphyxia via drowning and noted pulmonary edema - she was said to have been found head down, curled in a rain barrel outside her home. Investigators told reporters they saw no signs of foul play and offered the explanation that she “reached over the deck rail and down into the barrel for something when she fell in.”

The noted dimensions pertaining to the barrel are as follows: Top opening width - 18", Barrel height - 40", Depth of water in barrel - 18"

• Opening: 18 inches across - that’s narrow. Most adults would have a very hard time getting through that head first without intentionally angling themselves. Falling “accidentally” through said opening from deck above, would require just the right trajectory and body alignment.
• Height: 40 inches tall. Even if she did manage to slip her head, shoulders, arms and half her torso through the narrow opening and inside the barrel; her waist, her legs and her feet would have been outside the barrel opening.
• Water depth: 18 inches deep. Yes, she could drown in that amount of water - however, given the above factors - her face would have to be submerged the entire time, with no ability to move the rest of her body or push up with her arms or cause the barrel to fall over (was the barrel stationary/attached to something?). Drowning is possible — especially if someone’s unconscious, highly intoxicated or having a medical event — but most likely not a casual “oops, fell in” moment.
• Body position in report: Curled inside, head down. That’s not a natural “fall and stay there” position for a conscious adult. It sounds more like placed that way.

The “no foul play” conclusion feels lazy, because at minimum this scenario should raise red flags about incapacitation — medical event, intoxication, or external force — before she ended up face-down in 18" of water. Also, I'm curious if what she was said to have been reaching for was found in the barrel as well.

Autopsy report released for woman found dead in rain barrel

Read this on WECT site this morning and you beat me to posting it. Investigators are stating that she most likely was reaching for something in the rain barrel. I'm wondering the very same thing, was the item she was reaching for, in the rain barrel. Strange.

 

[Knox]

I’m not having a difficult time imagining she dropped something into the rain barrel and tried to retrieve the item. It would be helpful to have a picture of where the barrel was situated. It was likely surrounded by things that didn’t allow it to tip over.
The dimensions of the barrel would also be helpful, but I guess that information is not going to be released.

 

[Carolinamomx4]

I’m not having a difficult time imagining she dropped something into the rain barrel and tried to retrieve the item. It would be helpful to have a picture of where the barrel was situated. It was likely surrounded by things that didn’t allow it to tip over.
The dimensions of the barrel would also be helpful, but I guess that information is not going to be released.

The dimensions of the barrel are clearly stated multiple times. I noted them twice separately in the above thread and they're in the news article as well.

Hope this helps.

 

[333_OnlyHalfEvil]

I’m not having a difficult time imagining she dropped something into the rain barrel and tried to retrieve the item. It would be helpful to have a picture of where the barrel was situated. It was likely surrounded by things that didn’t allow it to tip over.
The dimensions of the barrel would also be helpful, but I guess that information is not going to be released.

This seems like the Kendrick Lamar death...not just in, but over and in, with too much body weight on top to be able to back out:

Law enforcement concluded that there were no apparent signs of foul play or suicide. Responders believe she reached over the deck rail and down into the barrel for something when she fell in.

 

[Gemmie]

I’m not having a difficult time imagining she dropped something into the rain barrel and tried to retrieve the item. It would be helpful to have a picture of where the barrel was situated. It was likely surrounded by things that didn’t allow it to tip over.
The dimensions of the barrel would also be helpful, but I guess that information is not going to be released.

No picture, but @Carolinamomx4 posted the barrel dimensions above.

“The barrel opening was approximately 18 inches, the height approximately 40 inches. The decedent’s head was submerged and the water height in the barrel was approximately 18 inches,” reads the report.

 

[lonetraveler]

I’m not having a difficult time imagining she dropped something into the rain barrel and tried to retrieve the item. It would be helpful to have a picture of where the barrel was situated. It was likely surrounded by things that didn’t allow it to tip over.
The dimensions of the barrel would also be helpful, but I guess that information is not going to be released.

Since she was on the deck and leaned over to retrieve something from the rain barrel, maybe the barrel was strapped to the deck posts to keep it from turning over.

 

[Gemmie]

August 11th, 2025 autopsy report findings are finally released, news article linked below.

Things just aren't adding up for me. The cause of death was labeled as asphyxia via drowning and noted pulmonary edema - she was said to have been found head down, curled in a rain barrel outside her home. Investigators told reporters they saw no signs of foul play and offered the explanation that she “reached over the deck rail and down into the barrel for something when she fell in.”

The noted dimensions pertaining to the barrel are as follows: Top opening width - 18", Barrel height - 40", Depth of water in barrel - 18"

• Opening: 18 inches across - that’s narrow. Most adults would have a very hard time getting through that head first without intentionally angling themselves. Falling “accidentally” through said opening from deck above, would require just the right trajectory and body alignment.
• Height: 40 inches tall. Even if she did manage to slip her head, shoulders, arms and half her torso through the narrow opening and inside the barrel; her waist, her legs and her feet would have been outside the barrel opening.
• Water depth: 18 inches deep. Yes, she could drown in that amount of water - however, given the above factors - her face would have to be submerged the entire time, with no ability to move the rest of her body or push up with her arms or cause the barrel to fall over (was the barrel stationary/attached to something?). Drowning is possible — especially if someone’s unconscious, highly intoxicated or having a medical event — but most likely not a casual “oops, fell in” moment.
• Body position in report: Curled inside, head down. That’s not a natural “fall and stay there” position for a conscious adult. It sounds more like placed that way.

The “no foul play” conclusion feels lazy, because at minimum this scenario should raise red flags about incapacitation — medical event, intoxication, or external force — before she ended up face-down in 18" of water. Also, I'm curious if what she was said to have been reaching for was found in the barrel as well.

Autopsy report released for woman found dead in rain barrel

I'm having a really REALLY hard time agreeing with LE's assessment, even though I didn't see the barrel and deck. It's just SO hard to imagine that an adult, or even a child, is going to have their body lined up perfectly while leaning over a railing (the angle is just wrong there IMO) and falling straight in, headfirst. And without knocking the barrel over while their shoulders, torso, bottom arms and legs all go in. I'm just... incapable of getting behind it being an accident.

Here are my issues:

1) 40" high is HIGH to be leaning over a railing trying to reach the bottom. There's no way in heck she'd be able to do that. 40" is 3' 4". I'm 5' 1" ,and she doesn't look super tall, and that height reaches just under my breast. I played around with a tape measure in the locked position and even if I was standing next to the barrel, I'm not going to be able to reach the bottom. I'd have to tilt it to get at anything inside, which I'd done with my yard debris cans (same height). I have to tip and jiggle to get whatever I accidentally dropped inside to work it's way closer to the opening so I can grab it.

From fingertip to armpit measures ~22". No WAY am I going to be able to reach the bottom of a 44" barrel, so why even try? Especially from over the deck railing. That just does NOT compute!!!!

2) Let's pretend she did try to reach the bottom of a 40" barrel from over the railing (which adds MORE height to reach the bottom)... what would be so important that she'd try to fish it out from 18" of water? Usually people are trying to retrieve their dropped phone, but that was found in the house with her purse. I can't imagine anything important enough to try to balance your body over a railing, to reach into a deep barrel when the easy way is to go down, tip the barrel, let the water and whatever it was run out and retrieve it. I am SO not buying what LE came up with.

And I agree with the OP. Did they even find anything in the barrel besides water and her body? Doubt it. JMO!!

 

[Carolinamomx4]

Read this on WECT site this morning and you beat me to posting it. Investigators are stating that she most likely was reaching for something in the rain barrel. I'm wondering the very same thing, was the item she was reaching for, in the rain barrel. Strange.

Definitely strange and sad. I would imagine the thing she was said to have been reaching for was found in the barrel with her Otherwise, how in the world could they know she was reaching for anything? But, who knows...stranger things have happened I suppose.

 

[Gemmie]

Definitely strange and sad. I would imagine the thing she was said to have been reaching for was found in the barrel with her Otherwise, how in the world could they know she was reaching for anything? But, who knows...stranger things have happened I suppose.

I can actually see someone coming up with that conclusion without anything even being in there. Simply going by the fact she was in the barrel so "she had to be reaching for something". I'd like to think they wouldn't jump to that conclusion but can definitely see it being done.

Here's the thing... you'd THINK the article, with info taken from her autopsy report, wouldn't state "she reached over the deck rail and down into the barrel for SOMETHING". You'd think it would say "she apparently reached over the deck rail and down into the barrel for <whatever was in the barrel with her>". You'd THINK. At least I'd think that!

 

[Colleen Donnelly]

This seems like the Kendrick Lamar death...not just in, but over and in, with too much body weight on top to be able to back out:

Law enforcement concluded that there were no apparent signs of foul play or suicide. Responders believe she reached over the deck rail and down into the barrel for something when she fell in.

I believe that's Kendrick Johnson you are thinking of. Death of Kendrick Johnson - Wikipedia

 

[lonetraveler]

I'm having a really REALLY hard time agreeing with LE's assessment, even though I didn't see the barrel and deck. It's just SO hard to imagine that an adult, or even a child, is going to have their body lined up perfectly while leaning over a railing (the angle is just wrong there IMO) and falling straight in, headfirst. And without knocking the barrel over while their shoulders, torso, bottom arms and legs all go in. I'm just... incapable of getting behind it being an accident.

Here are my issues:

1) 40" high is HIGH to be leaning over a railing trying to reach the bottom. There's no way in heck she'd be able to do that. 40" is 3' 4". I'm 5' 1" ,and she doesn't look super tall, and that height reaches just under my breast. I played around with a tape measure in the locked position and even if I was standing next to the barrel, I'm not going to be able to reach the bottom. I'd have to tilt it to get at anything inside, which I'd done with my yard debris cans (same height). I have to tip and jiggle to get whatever I accidentally dropped inside to work it's way closer to the opening so I can grab it.

From fingertip to armpit measures ~22". No WAY am I going to be able to reach the bottom of a 44" barrel, so why even try? Especially from over the deck railing. That just does NOT compute!!!!

2) Let's pretend she did try to reach the bottom of a 40" barrel from over the railing (which adds MORE height to reach the bottom)... what would be so important that she'd try to fish it out from 18" of water? Usually people are trying to retrieve their dropped phone, but that was found in the house with her purse. I can't imagine anything important enough to try to balance your body over a railing, to reach into a deep barrel when the easy way is to go down, tip the barrel, let the water and whatever it was run out and retrieve it. I am SO not buying what LE came up with.

And I agree with the OP. Did they even find anything in the barrel besides water and her body? Doubt it. JMO!!

Just to add to your great post, if she was reaching then her arms would go in first before the head and body. Looks like she could have used her hands and arms to keep her head above water. JMO