Rock Valley, IA – A 19-year-old Rock Valley man sleeping at the Iowa State Fair died Thursday of carbon monoxide poisoning, the Polk County Medical Examiner officially ruled this morning.
The death of Travis Jon Van Beek, 19, was ruled accidental.
Iowa State Troopers and State Fair Police were dispatched to the infield of the race track on the north side of the Grandstand at the State Fairgrounds, where they found Van Beek dead inside a fifth wheel camper trailer at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday.
A generator was still running, according to authorities.
Van Beek had been planning to participate in the Grand Outlaw National Tractor and Truck Pull at the fair Thursday. He had been sleeping in his trailer with the generator running before he was discovered.
Family members who had not heard from Van Beek had a friend who was at the tractor pull check on him and that’s how he was found.