Washington County commissioner dies in hotel fall
(AP) - A Washington County commissioner and former Woodbury police chief died in a fall at a Mankato hotel, police said Sunday.
Gregory T. Orth, 61, of Woodbury, fell over a railing in his fourth-floor room at the Holiday Inn Civic Center shortly before 1:30 p.m. Saturday and landed in the ground floor courtyard within view of several people, police said.
Orth was breathing but unresponsive when authorities arrived. He was pronounced dead at Immanuel St. Joseph's Hospital.
Police commander Matt DuRose said it appeared the fall was accidental. He said that there were no indications it was a suicide or that drugs or alcohol were involved.
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"The railing wasn't faulty," DuRose said. "The railing didn't break."
Orth was in town with a friend, but no one was in the room with Orth when he fell, DuRose said.
Rooms at the hotel have doors that open to the courtyard. The railing is flush with the door, and there is no balcony between the door and railing, DuRose said.
Orth served as Woodbury's police chief from 1975 to 2002 and public safety commissioner from 1996 to 2002. He had been on the county board since late 2006.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)