Orem police on Monday found two young men dead in a pickup truck that was parked inside a storage unit.

Police also found illegal drugs and paraphernalia inside the truck. The cause of death appears to be asphyxiation because of carbon monoxide poisoning, said Orem police spokesman Phil Murphy.

Found in the driver's seat of the truck was Kristopher Fairbanks, 22, of Springville.

The man in the passenger seat was 24 years old. Police withheld his name Monday pending the notification of relatives.

Officers were called to a storage business in the 1300 block of West 400 North around 8:30 a.m. after a man noticed that a storage unit next to his was slightly open. He looked inside and saw the truck, which belonged to a relative and had been reported missing Friday night and in Fairbanks' possession.

The man left it to police to enter the unit and find the bodies.

"It appears that carbon monoxide and possible drug use was involved," Murphy said. "They more than likely were sitting in there attempting to stay warm."

He said tests are still pending on the drugs found in the truck and on the amount, if any, that the men had in their systems.

It's not known if the men were impaired to the point where they couldn't help themselves or if they simply succumbed to the vehicle's exhaust in an enclosed space.

"With carbon monoxide, it appears that someone just drifts off to sleep," Murphy said. "You have no idea you're overcome by it."

Fairbanks had several arrests dating back to 2001 in the Utah County Sheriff's Department database, including charges for marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin possession.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.