Police investigate death of Juneau's new mayor

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The newly elected mayor of Alaska's capital city had suffered injuries when was found dead Monday, but police are awaiting autopsy results to announce a possible cause of death, officials said Tuesday.

The adult son of Greg Fisk, 70, found the mayor's body Monday afternoon and alerted police.

Juneau police spokeswoman Erann Kalwara said the cause of death remained unknown.

"It's not clear what the cause of those injuries are," she said. She could not comment on the nature of the injuries.

Fisk lived alone. There was no sign of forced entry into his home above Juneau's downtown.

"We haven't ruled anything out yet," Kalwara said. Police are hoping the state medical examiner in Anchorage will complete the autopsy in a couple of days, she said.

Investigators did not speculate on a cause of death but did not immediately rule out foul play.

An attack was "one of the possibilities out there, but there's others that could have happened," Police Chief Bryce Johnson told the Juneau Empire newspaper. "There could've been a fall. There's lots of things that would cause it."

In an email statement, Fisk's son, Ian, said his family wanted to grieve privately.

"We sincerely appreciate the support of the community and we recognize that, as would be the case with any public figure, his death brings a lot of attention," Fisk said. "At this time we have no reason to speculate as to the cause of his death and are awaiting the results of his autopsy."

Greg Fisk, a fisheries consultant, handily defeated incumbent Merrill Sanford in the Oct. 6 election and was sworn in Oct. 20.

Fisk, who had served on boards and commissions but had never run for office, had made economic development of Juneau's waterfront a key part of his campaign, He won nearly two-thirds of the vote.