Coroner’s report confirms role of carbon monoxide in deaths of two men in Sea Ranch

Two men found dead in a Sea Ranch home amid the onslaught of storms in January died from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, officials said.

Gene Beauchamp, 74, of Colusa, and Phil Mabray, 61, of Butte County, died of asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide, according to a death investigation by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Unit.

The two men, who were brothers-in-law, were found Jan. 11 in Mabray’s residence in the 300 block of Spinnaker Close by crew of Mendocino County-based Gonzalez Tree Service that was called in to remove a tree that had fallen on the home. The tree falling was most likely the result of the winter storms.

A worker who entered the house after nobody answered the door found the two men dead in separate bedrooms.

A generator located next to the rooms was switched on and its fuel tank was empty.

Fumes filled the home as firefighters and deputies responded.

There had been no signs of foul play or other trauma, officials said.

Hundreds of homes in Sea Ranch, located along the coast at the extreme north side of Sonoma County, had been without power due to the winter storms in the days leading up to the men’s deaths. Though, it wasn’t confirmed if Mabray’s residence had been without electricity.

The January storms were part of a larger system that brought torrential rain, toppled thousands of trees, saturated soils and triggered slides across the county from late December 2022 through mid-January.

The storms were also linked to other local deaths, including a toddler who died after a tree fell on his home in Occidental.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.