An inmate being held by the Alaska Department of Corrections died of natural causes Wednesday evening at an Anchorage hospital, Alaska State Troopers said.
Troopers were informed of 56-year-old David Bach's death at about 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to a dispatch issued Thursday morning.
"The (State Medical Examiner Office) was notified and released the body to the next of kin," troopers wrote. "No foul play is suspected."
Court records show that Bach pleaded guilty to felony charges of misconduct involving controlled substances in 2013, in connection with an August 2012 case in Ketchikan.
DOC spokesman Corey Allen-Young said that after Bach's conviction he was transferred to facilities in Southcentral Alaska, dividing his time between institutions in Anchorage and Palmer.
Bach was one of several inmates in the Alaska prison system suffering from a terminal illness, Allen-Young said, and was transferred from his facility to St. Elias Specialty Hospital in late May for treatment.
"The goal is to give them adequate care," Allen-Young said. "He had to be transported to St. Elias; he was there for 18 days."
Allen-Young said Bach's passing Wednesday had been an expected death.
Both the State Medical Examiner Office and DOC's recently formed Professional Conduct Unit will conduct investigations into Bach's death, Allen-Young said.