BY MICHAEL ARMSTRONG

STAFF WRITER

Homer Police are calling the death of a Homer man “suspicious.” 

Two people walking the Poopdeck Trail found the body of Mark Matthews, 61, about 10:15 p.m. Sunday. Matthews was lying on his back, police said in a press release. His body was sent to the Alaska Medical Examiner’s Office for a forensic analysis. Police do not yet know how long Matthews had been dead.

Citing an ongoing investigation, Homer Police Mark Robl declined to go into detail about why police believe Matthews’ death to be suspicious. Robl also would not say if Matthews had any wounds or other signs of foul play.

“Because of the nature of this investigation, I need to withhold a lot of information,” Robl said.

Police do believe the death is an isolated incident.

“We don’t believe there’s a risk to the public,” Robl said.

Matthews is the second body found outdoors in Homer this summer. On July 1, a 32-year-old Anchorage man was found dead by a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the woods near Paul Banks Elementary School. Robl said the Matthews death is not related to that earlier incident.

Police are interviewing people associated with the case and the death is the focus of police work this week, Robl said. Police have asked that anyone with information related to the death contact them at
235-3150 or call Crime Stoppers at 800-478-4258.

Matthews had moved to Homer last fall and had a job, Robl said. He was living in an apartment and was not homeless.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.