Two men and a  dog died Monday afternoon when they were overcome by carbon monoxide from a car left running in a closed garage to charge its battery, according to the Renton Police Department.

The bodies of two men, the 66-year-old resident of the house and a 28-year-old visitor, were discovered at about 3 p.m. by relatives visiting the house in the 500 block of Seneca Avenue Northwest.

Investigators determined the resident was running his car in the garage with the garage door down in order to charge the battery, according to Renton Police Commander David Leibman.

“The car was seldom used and the victim was known to routinely charge the battery by running the car with the garage closed,” he said.

When fire crews and police officers arrived, they detected an extremely high level of carbon monoxide in the house, said Leibman. Police initially reported that C02 or carbon dioxide was detected in the house.

Investigators found the victim’s car in the garage.  The key was in the ignition in the “run” position, but the car was no longer running and the battery was dead.

At this point it appears that the car had run out of gas and shut down, said Leibman.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office is investigating to determine the time and cause of death. The medical examiner will release the men’s identities.

“Detectives and the Medical Examiner’s Office saw nothing to suggest that this was anything other than an accident,” Leibman said.