A tragic carbon monoxide accident has ended the life of a bright young
White Lake Township emergency dispatcher.
“She was just one fine person — a very, very capable dispatcher and one of
the most well-liked employees we have,” said Police Chief Ronald Stephens.
Shannon Gaber-Silverthorn, 31, of White Lake Township, was watching her
6-year-old nephew at her home on Friday, just around the corner from the
police station where both she and her husband, a police officer, worked.
“It was a very tragic accident,” Stephens said.
The couple had a vehicle with a bad battery and to ensure it wouldn’t run
down and stop working, they’d start the vehicle to let the alternator charge
it.
“We theorize that, as she does have the practice of starting it up and
letting it run periodically, in this incident she did that and failed to
open the garage door,” Stephens said. “The exhaust seeped into the house,
and the garage was full of it.”
When Shannon Gaber-Silverthorn returned to the garage, she was quickly
overcome by the carbon monoxide filling the air and likely passed out, later
dying from the toxic fumes.
“When the garage is full (of carbon monoxide), up to five minutes is the
maximum one can take,” Stephens said.
Shannon Gaber-Silverthorn’s sister-in-law arrived later, finding her son
alone in the home.
“She asked where Auntie was and he said she was in the garage,” Stephens
said. “Her sister-in-law found her and made the call.”
Grief counseling is being made available to all staff members of the White
Lake Township Police Department, where several members were very close to
her.
The closest to her was her husband, Matt. The couple was together for 11
years and married two and a half years ago.
“She was always really proud of how long they’d been together,” said Kristy
Blewett of Waterford, Shannon’s best friend since the two were 14 years old
and attending Lakeland High School together.
They met through a common friend, and Matt informed Shannon of an open
dispatch position. She started working at the station in 2002, and also
worked part-time for the Milford Police Department.
She was also attending school for accounting and taking paralegal classes.
“She was always on the go and doing things,” Blewett said.
Stephens said a number of the station’s employees will be talking with grief
counselors.
“The 911 call came in to her colleagues, and the police officers who had to
respond and do CPR were her friends and her husband’s colleagues,” Stephens
said.
The funeral was held Tuesday at the Clarkston Methodist Church, where
hundreds of family members, friends and officers from throughout the region
filled the church, even overflowing into the balconies.
“To see the outpouring of people who were there — her friends, our whole
department and members from across the county, Macomb County and the city of
Detroit — showing how much they care,” Stephens said. “Some people from the
outside agencies may not know her personally but understand what our members
are going through.”
The 6-year-old boy was also very sick from carbon monoxide poisoning because
the fumes had started seeping into the home. He was taken to Huron
Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township and then transferred to
Children’s Hospital in Detroit, where equipment to cleanse the boy’s system
of the carbon monoxide was used, Stephens said. The boy is now doing well.
“It’s not a good idea to even (start a vehicle) and leave the garage door
open,” Stephens said. “If the wind is in the right direction, even with the
garage door open, (carbon monoxide) may continue to accumulate.”
Blewett described her friend as someone who was not just beautiful on the
outside, but an extremely good person.
“She was as beautiful inside as out,” Blewett said.
Shannon Gaber-Silverthorn loved golfing with her father, Rich, as well as
her friends and husband. She also enjoyed traveling, shopping and spending
time with her nieces, nephews, three dogs and her cat.
“She used to sky dive, she just liked adventure — she wasn’t a couch
potato,” Blewett said.
She is survived by her husband, Matt, and parents Rich and Penny Gaber as
well as her in-laws, Gary and Joan Silverthorn. She is also the sister of
Sommer, Sean (Mary), Brandon and Dustin, and is the aunt of Liam, 6, Jenna,
2, Ashley, 12, and babies Ariana and Annika. Click
here to see her death
notice.