Denali geologist dies while leading field trip

ANCHORAGE - A state medical examiner will investigate the death of a Denali National Park geologist who succumbed while leading a school field trip.

Alaska State Troopers say 60-year-old Phil Brease likely died of natural causes.

Brease was leading a Tri-Valley school science class on a field trip Wednesday at Garner Point.

Park officials say Brease remained behind as students headed to the bus. A Tri-Valley teacher returned to where the class had been and found Brease unconscious.

The teacher called 9-1-1, but paramedics could not save the geologist who had been with Denali National Park for almost 25 years.