A 55-year-old Point Pleasant man was found dead inside a spare, unlocked Mason Police Department vehicle two days after surveillance video showed him climbing into the back seat, according to West Virginia State Police. Gregory Roush arrived at the department in his own car on August 30 before stepping through a rear passenger door of an unused Chevrolet Tahoe parked in the lot, and he was not discovered until September 1.
Mason Police Chief Colton McKinney found Roush inside the vehicle after a family friend noticed his unattended car still sitting in the department parking lot and alerted officers, according to WV MetroNews. Officers then reviewed station surveillance footage, which captured Roush entering the unlocked Tahoe two days earlier. As WKRC reported, his body was located in the rear seat of the parked cruiser.
Why He Could Not Get Out
Police vehicles like the spare Tahoe are typically fitted with disabled interior rear door handles and window controls, or child-safety override locks, that prevent anyone seated in back from opening the doors from the inside, per Quora. That standard modification, common across law enforcement fleets, means a civilian who climbs into a cruiser's back seat can become trapped with no way to escape on their own.
Weather records show afternoon highs in Mason reached between 90°F and 92°F on August 31 and September 1, with high humidity pushing the heat index close to 100°F, according to Time and Date. Temperatures inside a parked, enclosed vehicle can climb far above the outside air within minutes, compounding the danger for anyone unable to open a door or window.
A Recurring Hazard Nationwide
This is not the first time someone has died after becoming trapped inside an unlocked, out-of-service police vehicle. In March 2026, 37-year-old Eric Valencia died of hyperthermia inside an unlocked spare SUV parked outside the Azusa Police Department in California after climbing into the back seat following his release from custody; he remained trapped for three days before he was found, and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled his death accidental, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A similar case unfolded in Miami in August 2020, when 56-year-old Clara Paulino died after becoming trapped in the rear seat of her husband's marked police cruiser outside their home; internal locking mechanisms prevented her from opening the doors, and local detectives treated the incident as an accidental trapping, per WTSP.
Investigation Continues, No Foul Play Suspected
West Virginia State Police, who routinely lead independent investigations when fatal incidents occur on municipal police property or involve departmental vehicles, said they do not currently expect foul play, though the investigation remains ongoing. Roush's body was sent to the West Virginia Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy, which is expected to help determine the exact cause and timing of his death.
Roush lived in Point Pleasant, the Mason County seat located roughly 12 miles south of the town of Mason along the Ohio River. Mason itself is a small municipality of 866 residents as of the 2020 Census, with a median resident age of 54 and a footprint of less than 0.6 square miles, according to the U.S. Census Bureau figures cited by Wikipedia. Chief McKinney, who was named Mason County Police Officer of the Year in 2023 before leading the department, was the one who ultimately found Roush after the family friend's report.
