Maintenance workers with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District on Monday found the body of a 32-year-old Anchorage man near Paul Banks Elementary School on East End Road. Homer Police Chief Mark Robl said a worker called police about 10:40 a.m. July 1 saying a body was found in the woods near the school.

Police identified the body as that of a 32-year-old Anchorage man. The man’s last known address was in Anchorage, but he was believed to have been living in Homer for less than a month. He worked at a local restaurant, Robl said. Next of kin has been notified.

Robl said it appeared the man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A handgun was found near his body. The body was sent to the Alaska State Medical Examiner for an autopsy.

Robl said a backpack and camping gear were found with the man’s body, but he did not appear to have a camp in the area. The woods to the east of the school connect to a large wooded area on the north shore of Beluga Lake that includes the Calvin and Coyle Trail, a nature walk accessible from the school.

The man had not been reported missing. Robl said the body had been there less than 24 hours.