No foul play suspected in Kowee Creek death

Juneau Police say the man and woman involved in Sunday’s fatal fall into Kowee Creek on Douglas were running from officers responding to a disturbance call.

No foul play is suspected in the incident, which left 22-year-old Evan Marshall Smith dead and his 18-year-old female companion injured.

JPD Spokeswoman Cindee Brown-Mills says police responded to a disturbance at an apartment on Foster Avenue at approximately 2 a.m. Sunday.

“Apparently there was a disturbance out in the parking lot, and that’s what they were called to,” says Brown-Mills. “But when they got there, the people who were involved in the disturbance had gone into the house.”

Brown-Mill says when police tried to contact the people involved in the disturbance – believed to be Smith and the girl – the pair jumped out a second story window in order to avoid talking to the officers. She says they apparently ran into a wooded area, where they fell off an 80-foot cliff into Kowee Creek.

Brown-Mills says alcohol was likely a factor.

“Apparently there were some possible minor consuming issues,” she says.

The incident remains under investigation as an accident. Brown-Mills says the name of the girl is not being released, because she has not yet been charged with a crime.

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