A man found dead near a trash container Thursday afternoon behind a Carson Street hotel may have died of natural causes, investigators believe.
Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said officers were called out to Plaza Street just after 4 p.m. when an employee of the Hardman House found the man.
"The probability is very great that we are dealing with some other cause of death. It does not appear to be foul play," said Furlong. "None of the witnesses suggest anyone else was around."
As police converged on the area, several people approached officers to say they had seen the man using a large stick to smash down garbage in the trash bin.
An employee of the hotel said the man, who works there, had complained the canister was too full. Trash overflowed from it and discarded boxes filled the fenced in area.
The cause of death is under investigation. The man's name will be withheld until next of kin have been notified.