An inmate at a Fairbanks jail charged with assaulting his girlfriend in Kaltag last month died Tuesday at a Fairbanks hospital after he attempted to take his own life last weekend, corrections officials said.
Arlo Olson, 40, was pronounced dead shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, according to a statement from Alaska Department of Corrections spokeswoman Megan Edge. He had been held in Fairbanks since June 7.
"Olson was found unresponsive in his cell at the Fairbanks Correctional Center by an on-duty correctional officer from an apparent suicide on (Saturday)," Edge wrote. "Officers and medical staff responded and attempted lifesaving measures."
Medics took Olson to Fairbanks Memorial, Edge said. He never left the hospital before his death.
Alaska State Troopers said last month that Olson was being sought after two incidents in Kaltag in early May, during which he attacked the door of his girlfriend's home, then choked her and didn't let her leave the residence.
Troopers had visited Kaltag four times trying to find Olson at the time, asking residents to call them with information. Megan Peters, a troopers spokeswoman, said Olson was ultimately taken into custody at his home on June 7, on charges including assault, kidnapping, burglary and criminal mischief.
Edge on Wednesday declined to discuss details of how Olson attempted to kill himself, noting that his death remains under investigation by troopers and the State Medical Examiner Office.
Olson's next of kin have been notified, Edge said.
Olson was also a figure in the Fairbanks Four trials that saw four men convicted of murder in the 1997 Fairbanks beating of 15-year-old teen John Hartman, before evidence suggesting their innocence led the state to vacate their convictions in 2015. Olson had testified for the state that George Frese, Kevin Pease, Eugene Vent and Marvin Roberts were at the scene of another attack in Fairbanks, but later recanted that testimony.
He is the third Alaska inmate to die this year, according to the department. In January, 22-year-old Nina Amigale Alexie died at Alaska Regional Hospital after a suicide attempt at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, where she was being held on charges of murdering her infant daughter.
On the night of May 20, 60-year-old Daniel Mark Brusehaber reported breathing problems while he was being held at the Goose Creek Correctional Center. Medics responded but Brusehaber, who was being held on a probation violation linked to a DUI charge, was pronounced dead an hour later.