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Police investigate recent homeless deaths

by Rebecca Palsha
Friday, May 15, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Anchorage police are investigating three deaths that occured in the past 10 days.

Two of those men were homeless.

Police don't know how the men died, but they have ruled out murder.    

The body of Stanley Ivey was discovered in the woods at the Sullivan Arena May 7.

Police say he had been there for several days. 

The second body, a 38-year-old man who was not homeless, was discovered at Campbell Creek Park this past Wednesday.

Just one day later, a 50-year-old was man found dead at the homeless camp on Orca.

Anchorage police say none of the deaths look like homicides, but they do call it unusual.

"Maybe once or twice a year, on occasion they'll step into traffic or drown in one of the nearby creeks, but to have three in a week is quite unusual," APD spokesperson Anita Shell said.

Catholic Social Services says preliminary numbers released this year show the number of homeless in Anchorage is growing. They say the number of homeless people in the city was close to 3,000 in January.

The group says three deaths in a row affect them all.

"It really sends a ripple effect throughout the homeless community," said Susan Bomalaski with Catholic Social Services.

Despite shelters in the area like Brother Francis, some of Anchorage's homeless choose to stay in camps where officials say drinking, drugs and violence are often a problem.

Police hope to know the cause of deaths in the next two to three weeks.

Contact Rebecca Palsha at rpalsha@ktuu.com