BEND, Ore. -- Meteorologist and Cincinnati native Russell Bird, 27, was found dead in his Bend apartment late Tuesday afternoon, KTVZ announced Wednesday.
Local police did not find the Ohio State alumnus's death to be suspicious, NewsChannel 21 News Director Lee Anderson said in an emotional statement on the newscast.
"He's remembered as a great weather scientist, and mostly as a great friend to all of us at the station," Anderson said.
Watch Anderson's statement in the player below.
Bird's profile page on KTVZ's website said the "diehard Cincinnati Reds and Bengals fan" joined the TV station's team in June 2015.
He previously interned at ABC channel 6 in Columbus, Ohio, and worked as the campus meteorologist at Ohio State for the Buckeye TV and Lantern TV news stations before moving to central Oregon to begin his career as a broadcast meteorologist.
One Facebook fan thanked Bird and a colleague for their work with a comment on his profile: "You both appear to have a strong desire to educate, regarding meteorological phenomena," she wrote. "I appreciate this, and the opportunity to learn. Thank you, Mr. Bird."
