Haines Borough police have released no official information about what caused the death of resident George Edwards. Edwards,51, was found dead at his Small Tracts Road home on Aug. 19, according to family members in Wisconsin.
In a phone interview this week, younger brother Johnny Edwards said that a friend of George’s told him she found George hanging from a beam in the Small Tracts home’s living room. Edwards said police chief Bill Musser would only tell him that the death was apparently self-inflicted and that there would be an autopsy.
“The HBPD is currently investigating an unattended death of a male adult living on Small Tracts. HBPD is awaiting information from the medical examiner’s office regarding cause of death before releasing any other information,” Musser emailed in response to questions from the Chilkat Valley News this week.
The friend who apparently found Edwards’ body declined comment to the CVN, saying Musser had directed her to not speak to anyone about the matter.
Johnny Edwards and mother Bridgett Berg expressed disbelief that George would have killed himself. Edwards said his brother phoned family in Wisconsin once a week or more and that he sounded optimistic during a call he made just hours before his death.
“That night he was not depressed at all,” said Johnny Edwards. “He was okay with life. That’s what was so shocking to me, and that’s why (he and brother Dave Edwards) had to go up there.” The pair has since returned to Wisconsin.
George had been concerned about a Haines Borough order to remove junked cars from his Small Tracts property, but the brothers had worked out a plan to use a tractor to haul the wrecks to a 27 Mile property owned by a friend, and there was plenty of time before a Jan. 15 deadline to move them, Johnny Edwards said.
Johnny Edwards said his family has heard conflicting descriptions of the death scene, and a nylon line found on the scene didn’t seem stout enough to support his brother, he said. Also, Johnny Edwards said, Musser has insisted police communications to the family come through an attorney. Musser also prohibited family members from removing items from the Small Tracts property, treating the place like a crime scene.
“Personally, I think he may have taken his own (life), but the jury’s not in yet because of the lies and inconsistencies… If everything’s legit and looks okay, I don’t know why (chief Musser) can’t talk to us,” Edwards said.