Shain Gandee Dead: 'Buckwild' Star Dies at 21, Cause of Death, Family Raising Money for Funeral with Mudding Fundraiser

Earlier this week, Shain Gandee, star of MTV's reality television show "Buckwild," was reported missing and then found dead in West Virginia. Shain and two other bodies, including his uncle David, were found in his vehicle after an apparent "mudding" accident. Now officials are coming out with news of the cause of death. The three men had died of carbon monoxide poisoning. In the aftermath, Shain's family is trying to raise funds for the likeable reality star's funeral.

According to autopsy reports by the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department in West Virginia, "The manner of death is accidental and the cause was carbon monoxide poisoning for all three subjects."

Upon the discovery of the vehicle earlier this week, the Sheriff's Department described its findings, saying:

"The vehicle sat unevenly, but upright, and was partially submerged in deep mud. Mud was covering the lower part of the passenger side door of the vehicle, but the driver's side of the vehicle was above the mud. The muffler of the vehicle was completely below the surface of the mud."

Today, the Gandee family and friends are running a fundraising "Mud Run" in order to raise money for the 21-year-old's funeral and honoring him with people participating in what he loved to do.

On Tuesday, Shain's second cousin Ashely Gandee Lewis updated fans on Facebook:

"I just wanted to let everyone know that the family feels that Shain died peacefully in his sleep without pain or suffering. That it probably was carbon monoxide. They are making arrangement now for his funeral. Nothing is confirmed but they are thinking Saturday. So private or public hasnt been decided I will try to keep everyone updated."

Mstarz recently reported on the death of Shain Gandee. Here is an excerpt:

Shain Gandee of the MTV reality show "Buckwild" has reportedly been found dead along with 2 others in a vehicle today. This news comes only 31 hours after the 21-year-old was reported missing along with his uncle, 48-year-old David Gandee. Both Shain and David were last seen around 3 AM on Sunday morning when they told others that they were going 4-wheeling. Since this news was announced today, April 1, some people feel that this could be a sick April Fool's prank.