Alaska State Troopers say two women were found dead at a Wasilla home Saturday, in a suspected case of carbon monoxide poisoning.
According to an online dispatch, troopers were informed shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday that Rosa Schlosser, 21, and Desiree Michaud, 19, had been found dead in Wasilla’s Williwaw subdivision. First responders, including Wasilla police and medics, had tried to resuscitate them but they were declared dead at the scene.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that (Schlosser and Michaud) were inside the residence while a generator was running in the crawlspace, likely dying from carbon monoxide poisoning,” troopers said in the dispatch.
Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said Monday that the home was apparently off the local power grid at the time of the deaths. How long that had been the case remains under investigation.
“The residence itself was not hooked up to any public utilities, so any source of electricity was coming from that generator located within the house,” McDaniel said.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas found in engine exhausts that can cause symptoms ranging from nausea to death as it builds up in confined spaces over time. A Wasilla man’s death in February 2023 was linked to a gas generator and a propane heater running inside an attic without ventilation, and five residents of an Anchorage home were sickened on Christmas Day after exposure to the gas.
McDaniel said troopers encourage anyone using appliances or equipment that can produce carbon monoxide to do so outdoors if possible.
“And if it has to happen inside, to make sure that it is properly ventilated – so that tragic incidents like this don’t occur in the future,” he said.
Schlosser and Michaud’s families have been notified, and their bodies have been sent to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy. Troopers say no foul play is suspected in their deaths.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
