2 found dead in back of moving truck in south Sacramento; police say death likely accidental

A man and woman were found dead Thursday in the back of a U-Haul truck and Sacramento police say the deaths may have been accidental.

Officers found the vehicle about 6:45 p.m. parked in the 4600 block of Cosumnes River Boulevard in the Valley Hi / North Laguna neighborhood. The truck’s cabin was unoccupied, and the rear door ajar. Inside the back of the vehicle were the bodies of the unidentified man and woman and a small fire pit, police said.

“Preliminarily, there does not appear to be any foul play. Officers located a small fire pit in the back that had been burned and, again, preliminarily we believe that’s what led to their deaths,” Officer Anthony Gamble, a department spokesman, said in a statement following the discovery.

The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office is investigating the deaths and will release the identities of the man and woman once their families have been notified.

Darrell Smith

The Sacramento Bee

916-321-1040

Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.