A man killed after a small plane he was piloting in Alaska clipped a downtown Anchorage building and crashed early Tuesday was a former Minnesotan whose wife worked for a Minneapolis-based law firm whose office was also in that building.
Katherine Demarest was not at work at the Dorsey & Whitney office in Anchorage and it is unclear if anyone else was in the building when a Cessna 172 flown by her husband, Doug Demarest, crashed into the building around 6:20 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said. Demarest died, but no one else was injured.
He was not authorized to fly the plane, which belongs to the Civil Air Patrol, a civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force that is made up of volunteers who help with search and rescue, disaster relief and homeland security across the country, according to a statement from the national group. Demarest joined the patrol in 2010.
Doug and Katherine Demarest both have ties to Minnesota: She graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2008 and clerked for then-Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Eric Magnuson in 2009-2010. He was a photographer who had a studio in the Twin Cities around that time.
A cached version of dougdemarest.com, a since-closed website showcasing his photography, described Doug Demarest as a former National Park Service ranger who "makes images of adventures and the landscapes and cultures that they explore, in far-flung places and his Alaska backyard."
A spokeswoman for the Anchorage division of the FBI, which is investigating the crash, said Wednesday that there were no indications that it was "terrorist-related" but added that the bureau could not comment further on the investigation. The six-story Baker Building also houses the state attorney general's office and is in the heart of Anchorage's legal district.
Katherine Demarest was among the primary members of a pro bono legal team that earlier this month helped reach a settlement that resulted in the dismissal of charges and release of the "Fairbanks Four," four men who had been in prison for a 1997 murder each say they didn't commit.
Hours after learning of Doug Demarest's death, the "Fairbanks Four" made plans for a fundraiser for her and their two young children, said Peter Captain Jr., who is helping to coordinate the effort.
