Coast Guard Commander Slain

A N C H O R A G E, Alaska, July 25, 2001 -- The commander of a Coast Guard

communications station on a remote island in the Bering Sea has

been shot to death in what is believed to be the first slaying on

Coast Guard property.

Chief Warrant Officer Timothy A. Harris, 33, was found deadTuesday outside his office on St. Paul Island. Carl W. MerculiefJr., 25, was arrested and charged with murder.

Police said they had not established a motive for the slaying,and would not comment on any connection between the men.

According to court papers, Merculief and a second man drove tothe base about 4 a.m., and Merculief shot the Coast Guardsman inhis room.

Police said Merculief then went to the home of his estrangedwife and threatened to kill her and the second man if they reportedthe shooting. Hours later, the two slipped away and notifiedpolice.

"As a small, humanitarian service in the lifesaving business,we're grieving the tragic, violent loss of one of our teammembers," said Capt. Richard Houck, chief of staff of the 17thCoast Guard District.

Motive Remains a Mystery

Petty Officer Roger Wetherell, a Coast Guard spokesman inJuneau, said the slaying is the first known homicide on Coast Guardproperty.

Harris, a 17-year Coast Guard veteran, was assigned ascommanding officer of the station on July 3. He had transferredfrom New Orleans, where his wife and two children still live.

The navigation station on St. Paul Island is staffed by 15 to 22members who keep the radio signal operating 24 hours a day. CoastGuard members serve one-year tours without their families becausethe station does not have housing for relatives, Wetherell said.

The island 775 miles southwest of Anchorage has a population ofabout 675, the majority Aleut.