Pocatello, ID – A Pocatello dentist and three members of his family were found deceased in their home on Satterfield Drive about 9:30 pm Sunday, it appears that the family, two adults and two young boys, died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Bill and Ross Parrish and their two sons, 14-year old Keegan and 12-year old Liam, were discovered by a family member Sunday after they didn’t show up for church and then for a regular family get together.
When the family failed to answer phone calls and texts, Bill’s sister and her husband went to check on them.
Bill, who worked as dentist at the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, and Ross have two older children currently serving missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Larry Fisher, public spokesman for the local LDS church said they had been notified and were en route back to Pocatello.
Fisher said Ian Parrish was serving in South Dakota and Jensen Parris was in Portland, Ore.
“Right now we are evaluating what needs to be done and we’ll do everything we can to help the family,” Fisher said. “They were very gracious people who would do whatever they could to help others.”
Bannock County Coroner Kim Quick said two victims were found in bed and two were at other locations in the house.
“There is evidence that they knew that they were sick,” Quick said. “They just didn’t know what they were sick from.”
There was no carbon monoxide detector in the Parrish home, located at 1780 Satterfield Drive.
Quick estimated the time of death to have been between 11 pm and midnight Saturday.
Investigators are looking at the possibility that a natural gas appliance, a water heater, furnace, or stove may have malfunctioned in the home.
“This is a chance to remind everyone that if you have natural gas appliances, or a natural gas fireplace, you need a carbon monoxide detector,” Quick said.
Quick said the first symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning is a severe headache, often followed by nausea, victims quickly become disoriented and incapable of acting, Quick said.
In his 35 year career, Quick said the incident at the Parrish home was the largest mass death he recalls in Pocatello.
Fred Parrish was Bill’s cousin, but he said the two were more like brothers, he said the tight knit family was pulling together for strength to cope with the loss of their family members.
“(Bill and Ross) were the most dynamic people,” Fred said. “We were talking about that, we are going to miss Bill’s laugh, he could tell a story and make it 10 time funnier than it was.”
Craig Parris said he and Bill were born just 11 months apart, the first boys among a dozen girl cousins.
“We were spoiled rotten,” Craig admits. “It was me and him against the world.”
Craig said Ian and Jensen were expected to arrive back in Pocatello by tomorrow and he said members of the church were with them after they learned of the death of their family members.
“They grabbed them and loved them and their on their way home,” Craig said.
The large family’s strong faith is helping them to deal with the tragedy.
“I guess a lot of people might see their cousin every year at the family reunion, but we saw each other several time a week, we grew up in the same houses,” Craig said. “We’re a big family and we’re taking care of each other. Our faith, knowing that families are forever, is a comfort for us right now. God has a plan, we just don’t know what that is.”