SAVANNAH, Ga. – Investigators suspect drug overdoses killed two Navy submarine sailors whose bodies were found in the same Georgia house four days apart.
Authorities are awaiting results of toxicology tests following the strange back-to-back deaths at an off-base home near Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, said Cmdr. Sarah Self-Kyler, a spokeswoman for the Navy’s Submarine Forces Command. “It is our understanding from the initial reports that it is an apparent drug overdose for both sailors,” Self-Kyler said in an interview Wednesday, per the AP.
Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Jerrell was found dead Oct. 12 on the floor inside a friend’s house in Kingsland, located near the Georgia-Florida state line. Friends had gone looking for Jerrell after the sailor’s wife reported him missing, Self-Kyler said.
Citing police reports filed in the deaths, news organizations reported Jerrell and his family were visiting Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., when the sailor told his wife he was going back to their hotel because he felt ill. He was gone when the family returned to the hotel, and Jerrell’s wife reported him missing.
That was Oct. 11, the day before he was found dead. Jerrell’s body was found in the home of Petty Officer 2nd Class Ty Bell. When Bell, 25, failed to report for duty at Kings Bay on Monday, concerned shipmates went to the house, Self-Kyler said. Inside, they discovered Bell was dead. The police report on Bell’s death said the sailor had a “white foamy substance” coming from his nose when his body was discovered.
Both sailors were sonar technicians who had become friends during a previous assignment, Self-Kyler said, calling their deaths “shocking news.”
This article originally appeared on Newser: 2 US Sailors Found Dead 4 Days Apart in Same Home
