UPDATE: West Des Moines Police Think Man Died Using Charcoal Grill for Heat

James S. Twadell worried that his dog, a pug named Princess, would get cold with Saturday's overnight temperatures predicted around freezing.

So, Twadell slipped a DVD of “Milo and Otis,” a film about an orange tabby cat named Milo and a fawn pug named Otis, in the player and left Princess to watch it on the big-screen television in the warmth of his friend Kristine Blessing’s West Des Moines home.

At 9:30 Saturday night, West Des Moines police found the 39-year-old Omaha man dead of apparent accidental carbon monoxide poisoning in his white SUV, which he’d parked at the , 900 39th Street.

An autopsy will be conducted to officially determine the cause of death, but Sgt. Ken O’Brien believes Twadell was overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from a charcoal grill he was using for heat inside the vehicle.

According to police reports, Twadell sent several text messages to friends indicating he was using the grill for heat, noting the charcoal was not causing smoke and the grill was keeping him warm.

“I don’t know if this is a common thing around the country, but I’ve investigated two or three of these in 23 years of law enforcement,” O’Brien said Monday. “People get done with their grill and think the coals are extinguished and put it in their car and it generates carbon monoxide.”

Blessing, who met Twadell two years ago in Council Bluffs when several Christian motorcyclists were returning from a rally in Sturgis, SD, had made arrangements with Twadell, who owned a tree service, to help her trim trees as she prepares her house for sale.

The job would take two days, and Blessing said she offered Twadell a guest room, but he told her he preferred to camp. When he was unable to get a camping spot at private campgrounds, he drove to the church near Blessing’s home and planned to spend the night.

Blessing described Twadell as a “very giving, very nice man” who showed up at her house wearing a shirt that said “love me, love my puppy.”

Twadell's sister, Vanessa Buttars of Jacksonville, FL, told Patch that his dog traveled everywhere with him.

"His dog was everything to him. Basically you love his dog, you love him," Buttars said. "That was his motto. If you got past his exterior wall and his interior wall, you had a friend for life. He was always there. He always tried to do whatever he could do within his means."

Only two weeks ago Twadell had purchased his first house.

"He never had anything he could call his," Buttars said.

While Twadell was never married, he was the very proud father of a 15-year-old daughter, Rachel, who lives in Nebraska, his sister said.

Her brother made a living working full-time as a tree trimmer.

"That's what his pride and joy was," his sister said. "He loved being up in the trees."

His friend Blessing said he was experienced at roughing it.

“I’m floored that’s what chose him,” Blessing said of the apparent cause of her friend’s death. “He’s an avid camper. He did this all the time, stayed in his truck. This was a man so abused as a child – a very sad story – that he wasn’t comfortable in his own skin and preferred staying away from people.”

Blessing said she plans to plant a tree in her friend’s honor at the church where he died.

Her family's loss should be a warning to campers, both new and experienced ones, about precautions to take with fires, Buttars said.

"I've lost my brother, but this can happen any time, any place. Make sure that you heed this warning," she said. "Make sure if you're putting it in a closed space that you have adequate ventilation so this can't happen to you.

"Yes we will miss him," she said. "Yes, we love him."