At 4:35 pm on Saturday Troopers responded to mile 16 of Funny River Road after a call went in to Soldotna Troopers requestingg assistance at an active disturbance according to trooper dispatch

The caller reported that the Caretaker at the lodge at that location, 34-year-old Kenai resident Jeffrey Dale, was intoxicated, aggressive and had fired a weapon at the lodge.

The guests at the lodge, nine in all, were in separate parts of the lodge, they barricaded themselves in their rooms.

Immediately after their arrival at the scene, Alaska State Troopers and Bureau of Highway Patrol Troopers evacuated the guests of the lodge from the building.

Until the situation at the lodge could be determined, Central Emergency Services was staged nearby.

The Southern Emergency Reaction Team and a Crisis Negotiation Team responded to the scene as well and a LifeMed helicopter was put on standby.

A Tactical Response Vehicle was also brought to the scene and was staged as a rescuer platform. The Southern Emergency Reaction Team and the Crisis Negotiation Team located Dale in a downstairs common area of the lodge. He was dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Next of kin was notified of Dale’s death and his remains were sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for autopsy.