Lake Elsinore death investigation underway after person found dead inside car

July 2, 2019 Trevor Montgomery

LAKE ELSINORE — Officials are conducting a death investigation after a person’s lifeless body was found inside a car parked outside a downtown Lake Elsinore business earlier today, Tuesday, July 2. Preliminary reports from Sheriff’s officials indicate foul play is not suspected and that the victim’s death may have been related to an as-yet unknown medical crisis.

LEADING THE RCNS HEADLINES:
Palm Desert men arrested for child abuse, child porn
Transient killed crossing SJ street remains unidentified
Foul odor leads to discovery and seizure of 100 cats and dogs

Deputies assigned to the Lake Elsinore Police Station and other emergency personnel were dispatched to a medical aid call outside M&M Liquors in the 100 block of W. Graham Ave., between Main and Spring streets, after receiving reports of a person seen sitting inside a car parked outside the business for several hours.

When officials arrived they found a person sitting inside the car who was not breathing and began CPR.

“Despite life-saving measures at the scene, the victim passed away,” Riverside Sheriff’s spokesperson Deputy Robyn Flores later told RCNS when asked about the incident.

Coroner officials were later summoned to the scene and arrived to take custody of the victim’s body shortly after 3 p.m.

Area residents later shared first-hand accounts on social media of watching emergency personnel performing chest compressions on the victim, after the person was pulled from the vehicle and laid on the ground. They later reported seeing the person’s body covered with a sheet and an EZ-Up set up nearby, as officials conducted their initial, on-scene investigation. Some residents also reported being told by the downtown business owner that the woman had possibly suffered a heart attack.

Although the death investigation is still in its early stages, evidence at the scene led officials to believe the victim’s death was related to a “medical aid,” according to Flores, who said the person’s name would not be released at that time, pending further investigation and notification of family members.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.