Crowds say goodbye to "Buckwild" star at funeral
CHARLESTON, W.Va. For all his on-camera carousing, "BUCKWILD" reality TV star Shain Gandee was a Christian, and his mother says she'll see him again.
At her 21-year-old son's funeral Sunday, Loretta Gandee told mourners that a month ago, Shain said he knew he'd go to heaven when he died.
Family pastors say Shain declared his faith a few years ago and was baptized. They urged hundreds of young people packing the Charleston Municipal Auditorium to do the same.
Shain, uncle David Gandee and a third man were found dead April 1 inside a sport-utility vehicle that was partially submerged in a mud pit near Shain's home in Sissonville.
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Autopsies determined all three died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Police say the muffler was below the surface and that mud covered the passenger side. Their deaths have been ruled accidental.
MTV has suspended production on the second season of "Buckwild," which followed the antics of a group of young friends enjoying their wild country lifestyle. Gandee, nicknamed "Gandee Candy" by fans, was a breakout star of the show.
The network said Monday that it was "shocked and saddened" by Gandee's death, adding, "Shain had a magnetic personality, with a passion for life that touched everyone he met and we will miss him dearly."