Haines resident and dentist Dr. Patrick Smalley died Monday night from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police found Smalley at his Oslund Drive home at 6 p.m.
Smalley had sent a note via email to several family members, police said. Smalley’s brother, who lives in the Lower 48, called 911 when he received the email, but Smalley was dead when officers arrived at his residence.
Haines Borough interim police chief Simon Ford said the email was “very well thought out” and “meticulous,” and included references to insurance policies and other financial and legal issues Smalley sorted out.
Smalley also wrote that he missed his wife Francis, who died of organ failure in January 2012, and said he felt he would never be happy again.
Smalley was involved in a serious rollover accident near 30 Mile Haines Highway on Aug. 14.
Ford said an autopsy and toxicology screen will be performed on Smalley’s body. Evidence at the scene suggested Smalley had been drinking.
Smalley moved to Haines in 2000 and operated a dental practice on Main Street for 13 years.
A full obituary will be published in next week’s CVN.