A man at the Wildwood Correctional Complex died by apparent suicide Tuesday, though his death is still under investigation.
According to a State Trooper dispatch, Walter Shade, 30, of Soldotna was arrested and sent to Wildwood Pre-Trial Facility on September 1 for stealing $3,000 worth of tires from a store earlier this summer.
Department of Corrections spokesman Corey Allen-Young said Shade was found unresponsive in the shower about noon.
Medical staff and first responders could not resuscitate him.
The exact details of his death are under investigation by the department, the Medical Examiner’s Office and the State Troopers.
Shade was not under any extra supervision, Allen-Young said. He does not know if Shade was under suicide watch, undergoing any ongoing medical treatment or experiencing a diagnosed mental illness.
This is the ninth in-custody death this year. Joel Titus, 40, died at the Fairbanks Correctional Center on Sept. 3 while taking medication for alcohol detoxification.
