ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The newly elected mayor of Alaska's capital city had suffered injuries when he was found dead, but police are awaiting autopsy results to announce a possible cause of death, officials said Tuesday.
The adult son of Stephen "Greg" Fisk, 70, found the mayor's body Monday afternoon and alerted police.
Juneau Police Department spokeswoman Erann Kalwara said Tuesday the cause of death remains 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 Fisk's home above Juneau's downtown.
"We haven't ruled anything out yet," she said. Police are hoping the state medical examiner in Anchorage will complete the autopsy in a couple of days, she said.
Investigators on Monday didn't speculate on a possible cause of Fisk's 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."
Fisk's son, Ian, in an email statement said his family is grieving 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. Meanwhile I will not be responding to any further media requests of any kind, and ask for your understanding."
Greg Fisk, a fisheries consultant, handily defeated incumbent Merrill Sanford in the Oct. 6 election to become mayor.
Bob King, a veteran of Alaska politics who worked as press secretary to former Gov. Tony Knowles and as a fisheries aide to former U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, was Fisk's next-door neighbor, friend and campaign manager.
"He wanted to focus on strengthening Juneau's role as Alaska's capital city," King said.