A man who spent Saturday night in his car, parked in a driveway in the village of Schoharie, was found dead in the car on Sunday. The cause of death is still under investigation, but no foul play is suspected.
On Monday, the Schoharie Sheriff's Office identified the man as 35-year-old Mark Trendell of Sloansville. According to a Sheriff's Office press release posted on the Schoharie News, Trendell asked permission of a homeowner if he could sleep in his driveway:
At this time the investigation has revealed that, Mr. Trendell, had spent the evening in his vehicle in the driveway of an acquaintance, with their permission. The last contact was about 7:30 Saturday evening. At about 11:40 the acquaintance went to check on Mr. Trendell, who’s vehicle was still running in the driveway, and found Mr. Trendell unresponsive. The resident called 911. Responding police and Scho-Wright EMS determined that Mr. Trendell had passed.
There is some confusion among published news reports about whether Trendell and the homeowner knew each other. According to an account in the Times Union, the two were friends:
Mark Trendell of Sloansville was parked in his friend's Orchard Street driveway Saturday night when the friend came home, Schoharie County Sheriff Anthony Desmond said.
"(Trendell) had been out with friends snowmobiling all day," Desmond said. "The friend came home, and (Trendell) asked if he could stay there in his car for the night."
But the Daily Star reports that Trendell and the homeowner did not know each other:
Mark Trendell pulled his car into a driveway in the village of Schoharie Saturday night and, when confronted by the homeowner, indicated he was just going to sleep there for the evening, Sheriff Tony Desmond said.
The homeowner noticed the car was still there Sunday morning and found that Trendell — who was not acquainted with the residents of the house — was unresponsive, the sheriff said.
Saturday night was bitterly cold, with temperatures hovering near zero.
An autopsy to determine the cause of death has not yet been completed, the Sheriff's Office announced Monday.
