Death of Alaska mayor investigated; assault ‘one of the possibilities’

Police are investigating the death of the newly elected mayor of Alaska’s capital, whose body was found at his Juneau home.

The son of 70-year-old Stephen “Greg” Fisk found the body on Monday afternoon and alerted authorities, a police statement said. Fisk was pronounced dead at the scene.

Fisk had handily defeated incumbent Merrill Sanford in the October election to become mayor.

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Circumstances surrounding his death were not immediately available, but the statement from the Juneau Police Department addressed rumors about an assault.

“JDP is aware of rumors that an assault occurred in connection with Fisk’s death,” the statement said. “Those rumors are speculation. Detectives are actively investigating facts of the incident and all evidence is being preserved and documented.”

An autopsy will be performed.

The Juneau Empire newspaper quoted Police Chief Bryce Johnson as saying that an assault was “one of the possibilities out there, but there’s others that could have happened. There could’ve been a fall, there’s lots of things that would cause it.”

He said there was no evidence of forced entry into Fisk’s home.

“I think this was a terrible day for all of Juneau,” said Jill Ramiel, president of the Downtown Business Assn. “He was never afraid to say what he thought.”

Fisk’s campaign chairman, Bob King, said his potential as a mayor was starting to show. “For that potential to be snuffed out is just a crushing loss.”

Fisk was also a fisheries consultant.

As police prepared to remove Fisk’s body, a small crowd started lighting candles and placing them in the center of a small public sculpture, the newspaper reported.

“That makes me feel better,” D.J. Thomson said after lighting the candles in Fisk’s memory.

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