Man dies of possible exposure

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP — City police are investigating a possible exposure death this morning on east U.S. Highway 66.

The death could mark the first exposure death of the winter, Sgt. Erin Toadlena-Pablo, a spokeswoman for the Gallup Police Department, said.

“This would be the first of ‘08,” Toadlena-Pablo said.

A passer-by came across the body while walking near the Dairy Queen east at 2000 E. U.S. 66. Emergency personnel responded to the location at about 9 a.m., but the man was unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim is described as a Native American male.

Additional information about the victim was not immediately available. He will be taken to Albuquerque’s Office of the Medical Examiner to determine an exact cause of death.

Investigators were still processing the scene around 10:30 a.m.

Toadlena-Pablo said community service aides patrol areas frequented by intoxicated individuals and transients on a nightly basis to prevent such incidents.

Temperatures plummeted to below zero last night. It was not known how long the victim had been at the location prior to his discovery.