MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman found dead in an SUV inside a storage container in a remote field in Arkansas has positively been identified as missing Kansas mother Marilane Carter.
The Arkansas State Medical Examiners Office in Little Rock ruled her death as a suicide and the cause of death as asphyxiation from carbon monoxide, according to the Crittenden County Sheriff’s office on Friday.
Carter disappeared in the Mid-South more than two weeks ago as she drove to Alabama for mental health treatment her family said.
Carter’s uncle found her SUV backed into a shipping container down a gravel road off Interstate 55 on Tuesday morning.
Chief Todd Grooms said the vehicle’s ignition was in the run position and evidence showed it had been running inside the container. The vehicle was confirmed as Carter’s and one of her credit cards was found inside, authorities said.
No foul play is suspected.
“Information gathered from family members concerning her mental and emotional state during her final communications along with facts gathered from the scene have led investigators to believe that Marilane Carter drove the vehicle into the container and in doing so caused her demise,” Grooms said.
