In Unalaska, police say the man whose body was found in a creek Monday probably fell to his death.
Gregg Kortesma, 45, was pronounced dead at the scene after a pair of local hikers discovered his body in Ruth Rock Creek at end of Captains Bay, said Michael Holman, Unalaska’s director of Public Safety.
“The body was located at the bottom of a steep cliff and there’s substantial blunt force trauma to the head — all of which consistent with a fall down that cliff into the rocky creek bottom,” he said.
Police still are investigating what caused the fall, but Holman said they do not suspect foul play right now. Kortsema suffered “significant head injuries,” police said.
Kortesma’s body has been sent to the State Medical Examiner Office in Anchorage for an autopsy.
In the meantime, police are trying to piece together his activities during the week before his death.
Police know Kortesma applied for a job at City Hall on September 4th and recently worked on the fishing vessel Alaska Trojan, Holman said.
Kortesma was originally from Wisconsin, but he lived sporadically in Unalaska and Southeast Alaska over the last two decades. Local law enforcement became familiar with Kortesma during his time on the island.
“I think our first contact was probably almost 20 years ago,” Holman said. “He may not have been really well-known throughout town, but we knew who he was.”
Court records show Kortesma had faced a handful of felony and misdemeanor charges in Alaska.
He was arrested on a felony assault charge in 2014 after allegedly pointing a gun at a woman in a Juneau mall.
The charged was dismissed after he was found incompetent to stand trial.
Anyone with information on Kortesma’s whereabouts from Sept. 4 to Sept. 12 is asked to contact the Unalaska Department of Public Safety.
