Beckham County, OK – Beckham County deputies responded to two separate unattended deaths last week, a pair of cases Sheriff Derek Manning says are uncommon but handled with the utmost care and procedure.
The first call came early in the week after a trucking company reported they had not heard from one of their drivers. Location records showed the truck had been parked for several days at the weigh station between Sayre and Erick. Family members also told investigators the driver had complained of chest pains the last time they spoke with him.
Deputies located the truck, which had its curtains drawn. Manning said they did not believe it was an active medical emergency based on the timeline, so the door was unlocked by a service technician rather than forced open. Once inside, deputies found the driver deceased.
“That starts a whole process for an unattended death,” Manning said, noting that the medical examiner responded due to the time that had passed. After examining the scene and the body, the deceased was released to a funeral home and transported to the medical examiner’s office for further investigation. The trucking company’s owner arrived in person to assist with arrangements. “Just a sad situation,” Manning said.
Later in the week, deputies were called to the Interstate 40 rest area after a man reported his wife was unresponsive and cold to the touch. Deputies arrived moments before EMS and immediately began CPR. EMS continued life-saving efforts according to protocol, but Manning said it became clear the woman would not respond.
The husband told deputies his wife had been feeling sick since the couple left Amarillo. Believing she had fallen asleep, he pulled into the rest area to check on her and realized she was not breathing.
The medical examiner again responded to confirm there were no signs of foul play. “In both cases, everything clearly pointed to medical issues,” Manning said.
Neither individual was from Oklahoma, and neither was considered elderly. The woman was in her mid-50s. The medical examiner will determine the official causes of death.
Manning noted that unattended deaths are uncommon. “We don’t get those very often,” he said. “I had two or three of them during the whole time I was a trooper.”
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