Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

An autopsy will be conducted on Jay Proetto, a 67-year-old Haines man found dead Saturday afternoon near an alley off Main Street.

He had been seen by friends at the Pioneer Bar around 10 p.m. Friday, but apparently didn’t make it home to his apartment at Fourth Avenue and Union Stret.

Cliff Thomas reported Proetto’s body to police at about 3 p.m., after spotting it halfway under a flatbed truck in the backyard of his home at 318 Main Street.

Thomas said police speculated Proetto may have been walking west in an alley between Main and Dalton streets early Saturday and ducked under the truck’s bed.

“It was like he got in there trying to get out of the rain. He must have been half-knowing what he was doing,” Thomas said.

Thomas said he found Proetto lying on his back, with his hands “like they were holding his chest.” A set of keys belonging to Proetto were found on a creosote block nearby, Thomas said.

Proetto’s roommate, Kim VanNostrand, said Proetto suffered from diabetes and could become disoriented when his blood sugar dropped. Proetto also had previously suffered a heart attack, she said.

VanNostrand said a day-pack-sized backpack Proetto likely was wearing, containing his wallet and cell phone, has not been found. The pack is green with lighter green highlights and exterior fasteners.

Proetto didn’t drive and would wear the pack on his errands around town. He had the cell phone Friday, and he was sending Facebook messages from it as recently as late Friday afternoon.

Thomas said when he found Proetto Saturday afternoon, he was not wearing a backpack, but Thomas said he did not closely approach the body.

VanNostrand said she has no reason to believe Proetto’s death involved foul play. “Everybody loved Jay. Since this happened, I’ve had people I didn’t even know come up and say how much they loved him. I can’t think of any reason… but you never really know.”

VanNostrand said Proetto used alleys as shortcuts on his trips around town.

She said she would like his belongings returned. “If his backpack and its contents come back, I wouldn’t ask any questions.”

Haines police did not respond to CVN requests for information about the department’s investigation of Proetto’s death.