Person found dead inside car in Midtown Anchorage

Anchorage police are conducting a death investigation after a man was found dead inside a vehicle outside an auto shop in Midtown on Tuesday.

Police learned of the body, discovered in an SUV parked outside of Meineke Car Care Center at 3200 Seward Highway, at 2:42 p.m., according to a statement from Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Renee Oistad.

An employee of the auto shop called police about an unresponsive man inside an older model Chevrolet Blazer in the business's parking lot, said Sgt. Slav Markiewicz.

The cause of the man's death is undetermined, Markiewicz said. There are "red flags" and unanswered questions about the body, but police are unwilling to rule the death as a homicide at this point, he said.

An autopsy is planned for Wednesday, according to the sergeant. Investigators have not yet identified him.

Police said the man did not own the vehicle he was found in. People have been known to occasionally break into vehicles at auto shops and sleep, Markiewicz said.

Shortly before 5 p.m., several police vehicles were parked around a rear corner of Meineke's parking lot. The body of the man was still inside the vehicle as officers waited for the police department's crime scene RV to arrive.

A Meineke employee declined to comment.