N. Idaho inmate’s death due to undiagnosed heart condition

OROFINO, Idaho – Officials say a hereditary heart condition led to the death of an inmate at the Idaho Correctional Institute in Orofino.

The Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office in a statement Thursday says 30-year-old Alexander Mecklin’s death in January was due to the undiagnosed heart condition.

Mecklin collapsed in the weight room at the northern Idaho facility on Jan. 23 and died a short time later at Clearwater Valley Hospital.

Mecklin was serving time for burglary, but the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole was planning to release him in June.