Fumes Believed Cause of 4 Deaths in Camper

The death of four persons in a camper on Mt. Laguna over the holiday weekend has prompted officials to warn owners of motor homes to check for leaks of deadly carbon monoxide fumes.

Exhaust fumes are believed responsible for the death of the four San Diego residents who were found dead Monday inside the 11-year-old camper.

The victims were Katherine Walsh, 30, Michael McCrea, 32, Conan Lemmer, 28, and Graham Rayner, 28. They had left San Diego Saturday morning for a holiday weekend trip in the East County mountains in the camper owned by McCrea.

They were found dead at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the vehicle, which was parked off Sunrise Highway in the Cleveland National Forest.

The bodies were discovered by the Mt. Laguna Volunteer Fire Department after an area resident reported that the generator motor on the 24-foot motor home was making strange sounds and no one answered when he knocked on it.

“It looks like an accidental death due to inhaling exhaust fumes from a motor home,” Deputy Coroner David Lodge said. Autopsies were to be performed today, Lodge added.

Sgt. Sam Miranda of the Pine Valley sheriff’s station said it is important to double-check exhaust systems before using recreational vehicles, particularly older campers and motor homes that might have leaky exhaust systems.

Authorities believe the victims kept the generator on the vehicle running to power a heater in the camper.

Miranda said the site, 5,500 feet up on Mt. Laguna, is one of the coldest in San Diego County. It was windy with snow over the weekend.

Walsh, McCrea and Lemmer worked together at the Carlsbad plant of International Totalizator Systems, a manufacturer of computerized betting systems for lotteries and racing.

“It’s just devastating. It put the whole company in a state of shock,” said Ron Davidson, personnel director at the 180-employee plant.

“It’s a small enough company that you get to know people on a first-name basis,” he added.

John Johnston, a supervisor at the firm, said McCrea annually took his camper to Mt. Laguna for a New Year’s party. He said the three workers were a “very close-knit group,” and that they had many friends at the company.

Katherine Walsh, known to everybody as Katy, joined the company in 1982 and served as an aide to the project manager for parimutuel wagering devices.