A 66-year-old inmate died Wednesday at the Palmer Correctional Center, Alaska State Troopers said.
Medics and troopers were called to the medium-security prison in Sutton around 4:30 p.m. because Michael Phillip Padilla was experiencing a medical emergency, according to troopers. Lifesaving measures were taken by Department of Corrections staff and medics who responded, but Padilla died at the facility, troopers said.
Nothing suspicious was found at the scene and a preliminary investigation found that Padilla likely died from natural causes, troopers said. His body was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy.
Padilla had been incarcerated for the last decade while he served a sentence for possession of child pornography, according to the DOC.
He is the fifth man to die in DOC custody so far this year. Alaska saw 18 incarcerated people died in Alaska last year -- a record high largely driven by suicide.