Alaska Mayor Found Dead In Home Weeks After Taking Office

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Police are investigating the death of Juneau, Alaska’s mayor after his body was found in his home on Monday afternoon. According to the Juneau Empire, 70-year-old Greg Fisk had taken office just one month ago.

The Empire noted that the official lack of comment on Fisk’s cause of death and the suddenness of his passing have sparked rumors in Alaska’s capital city.

Juneau Police Department (JPD) chief Bryce Johnson told the newspaper that suicide has been ruled out, but that assault is “one of the possibilities out there.” They confirmed that there was no sign of forced entry to the Kennedy Street home where Fisk lived alone and was found by his adult son Ian. Neighbors told the Empire that they heard no disturbance that would suggest an assault.

In an interview with NBC, JPD spokeswoman Erann Kalwara dismissed rumors of an assault as “speculation.”

Police will release autopsy results in the next few days.

Fisk, a longtime civic activist and fisheries consultant, took office on Oct. 20 after unseating incumbent Mayor Merrill Sanford in an upset race. According to NBC, he will be succeeded by deputy mayor Mary Becker.

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