18-year-old found dead in garage with friend, 17, from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning

PHOENIX ( KPHO /Gray News) - Two young men in Arizona have been found dead due to apparent carbon monoxide poisoning on Tuesday in the Chandler area.

One of the men was 18-year-old Romeo Alvarez. His family says they have been left in a state of shock.

Loves ones said Alvarez was helping to care for his mom and younger sisters over the years after his father died when he was a baby.

He recently graduated from Dobson High School and gave a special shoutout to his mother.

"I always strive to be the best at everything I do and that's due to her always pushing me to give 130%," he said.

Family members said everyone was together celebrating Alvarez's mother's birthday last Sunday. The 18-year-old left later that night to go to a friend's house, but never came home.

When no one could get in touch with him on Monday, the family reported Alvarez as missing to Chandler and Arizona State University police, where he attended school.

The family ended up tracking Alvarez's location to an apartment complex in Chandler thanks to cellphone location data.

Around 3 a.m. Tuesday police found him and his 17-year-old friend dead inside a garage.

The family believes the two died from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.

"If they were in that garage and hanging out listening to music and time goes by not having air, windows up maybe, who knows," Alvarez's cousin Eilian Castaneda said.

Lots of questions remain as detectives continue to investigate what happened that night, but those close to Alvarez hope others learn to never have a car running inside a garage.

"Carbon monoxide can take you in minutes, maybe seconds," Castaneda said.

A GoFundMe has since been set up to help with Alvarez's funeral expenses.

A memo sent out to Chandler High School families identified the 17-year-old who died as Marcus Lee.