A Wasilla woman’s death last weekend has been tentatively attributed to carbon monoxide, after Alaska State Troopers and medics responded to her home.
A Friday trooper dispatch said 44-year-old Michelle Ahern was reported dead just before 1:30 p.m. Saturday at her Sage Road home.
“[Ahern] appears to have succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning,” troopers wrote. “Her body was transported to the [state medical examiner’s] office in Anchorage for autopsy.”
Carbon monoxide – a colorless, odorless gas found in exhausts from cars, heating systems and fireplaces – can build up unnoticed in closed spaces not fitted with CO detectors. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure to the gas can cause symptoms ranging from headaches to death, depending on the concentration and length of the exposure.