Tempe Police Won't Say Whether Gun Was Found Near Body of Man They Believe May Have Shot Himself
By James King , Mon., Jun. 21 2010 @ 1:38PM Comments (5) 
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| Jeff Ahlers |
? It's been nearly three weeks since a man was found dead in a Tempe canal with a gunshot wound on his body, and Tempe police still haven't determined whether he was murdered or committed suicide -- or they're not tellin' anyone about it if they have.
If 47-year-old Jeff Allen Ahlers of Tempe (pictured) had shot himself, it would only make sense that the gun he used to do the deed was found near his body -- in that it would be a little difficult for Ahlers to move the gun after the fact, for obvious reasons.
Tempe police, however, won't say if any gun was found, or if detectives had even looked for one.
However, they still maintain that they haven't determined whether Ahlers committed suicide or was murdered.
Ahlers went missing on June 1, and was found several days later, dead, in a Tempe canal with at least one gunshot wound on his body.
When police first discovered his body, they said they didn't think any foul play was involved but later -- after finding the gunshot wound -- seemed very quick to suggest that Ahlers may have committed suicide.
We spoke to Tempe police spokeswoman Molly Enright this morning and asked her whether any gun was found near Ahlers' body -- or if police had even searched the canal for a gun -- but she would only say there were no updates on the case at the moment.
At the time of his disappearance, Tempe police Sergeant Steve Carbajal told New Times that from all accounts, Ahlers seemed to lead a happy life with his wife doing volunteer work.
Several commenters on this blog post, who claim to have known Ahlers, echo what Carbajal said and find it hard to believe Ahlers would kill himself.
While police are staying hush-hush about whether they found a gun near Ahlers' body, which would suggest he may have killed himself, the alternative scenario is that he was murdered, and if that's the case the murderer is still on the loose.
