KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – The death of a Ketchikan doctor remains under investigation after police learned that the friend who reported the doctor missing was accused of stealing money and valuable items from his home, authorities said.
Eric Garcia was reported missing March 27 by his 31-year-old friend, Jordan Joplin of Maple Valley, Washington.
He called police to say Garcia had not been seen for 10 days, the Ketchikan Daily News reported.
Police say they later heard from Garcia’s family members that a coin collection, watches and alcohol were missing from his home.
“The collections he had were quite extensive, and we’re trying to determine exactly what items are still outstanding,’’ said Joe White, Ketchikan’s acting police chief.
An investigation determined Joplin had a shipment of items sent by barge on March 17 to the Seattle area and withdrew $37,000 from Garcia’s account, said deputy police chief Josh Dossett.
Ketchikan police were joined by the King County Sheriff’s Office and Port of Seattle officers in their search of the shipping containers once they arrived in Washington.
Joplin was arrested and will be extradited to Ketchikan to face theft charges.
Garcia had last been seen at work on March 16 and had plans to attend a weeklong conference out of town. The shipments and electronic bank account transfers started March 17 after he is believed to have died, Dossett said.
An autopsy did not show an obvious cause of death for Garcia, who was a general surgeon at PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center for about 10 years. Police are awaiting toxicology reports to determine how he died.
“Due to the nature of the case, they’re speeding it up,’’ Dossett said. “We should have some results in two to three weeks. Normally it’s a six to eight weeks wait for toxicology. At this point, we would consider the death suspicious.’’
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