Man Found Dead of Apparent Suicide at Milpitas RV & Self Storage in Milpitas, CA

A man who died of a gunshot wound to the head in an apparent suicide earlier this month at Milpitas RV & Self Storage in Milpitas, Calif., was identified by the Santa Clara County, Calif., Coroner's Office last week as Jack Ward. The 66-year-old man had been in contact with local police for more than a day prior to his death but refused to leave his RV parked on the storage property at 420 Railroad Court, according to the source.

Police first received a call about Ward on the evening of Nov. 29, describing him as possibly despondent and armed with a handgun. Officers went to the self-storage facility to conduct a welfare check and spoke to Ward by phone, but he refused to leave the RV or meet with officers in person, the source reported.

Officers conducted surveillance of the area for more than 24 hours and had intermittent conversations with Ward before he stopped answering his phone on Dec. 1. Armed police entered the RV that afternoon and found Ward dead, Lt. Kevin Moscuzza told the source. No one else was present inside the RV, and Ward hadn’t barricaded himself inside the vehicle, he said.

While in contact with Ward, officers restricted access to the area to employees of adjacent businesses, according to the source. The man wasn’t well known to police, Moscuzza said.