A 20-year-old inmate at Ketchikan Correctional Center died at an Anchorage hospital Saturday, two days after attempting to hang himself in his cell, Alaska State Troopers said.
On Thursday, troopers responded at about 11:36 a.m. to a report of an attempted suicide of an inmate. An investigation found that Brendon Sample of Wrangell had tried to hang himself with a bed sheet while he was alone in his cell, troopers wrote in a Saturday dispatch.
Correctional staff found Sample unresponsive in the cell and immediately began CPR, the dispatch said. Paramedics with the Ketchikan Fire Department arrived and took over the resuscitation efforts. Sample then was taken to the Peace Health Ketchikan Medical Center, where he remained in intensive care through Thursday night.
About 1 p.m. on Friday, Sample was medevacked to Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage. He was declared dead at 10:53 a.m. on Saturday.
An autopsy will be conducted, troopers said, and there are no signs of foul play. Next of kin have been notified.
Online records show Sample was arrested one week ago on suspicion of felony sexual abuse of a minor. It was Sample's first arrest. A preliminary hearing had been scheduled for next week.
Officials with the Alaska Department of Corrections could not immediately be reached for comment. An officer who answered the phone at Ketchikan Correctional Center referred questions to the state director's office.
In December, an Anchorage inmate committed suicide in a jail bathroom.