CEDAR CITY — An Iron County Jail inmate who was found unresponsive in his jail cell in Cedar City on Thursday was pronounced dead at St. George Regional Hospital three days later.
According to a news release issued Tuesday afternoon by the Iron-Garfield-Beaver-Kane Critical Incident Task Force, inmate George William Schuessler was found alone and unresponsive in his cell on Thursday.
“Medical staff and corrections deputies attempted to perform life-saving efforts on Schuessler,” the news release stated.
Schuessler was first transported to Cedar City Hospital before being transferred via Intermountain Life Flight helicopter to St. George Regional Hospital, Schuessler was pronounced dead on Sunday.
“Although no foul play is suspected, this incident is being investigated by the Critical Incident Task Force,” the news release said.
According to court records, Schuessler, who turned 37 on Wednesday, had been incarcerated in Iron County Jail for approximately five days since his arrest following a traffic stop in Iron County.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, an Iron County Sheriff’s deputy pulled over the vehicle Schuessler was driving at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 20, for not having valid registration or insurance. During the course of the traffic stop, Schuessler was found to have an extraditable warrant out of California for felony rape and sex abuse.
Formerly known as the Iron-Garfield-Beaver Critical Incident Task Force, it recently added neighboring Kane County to its ranks, according to task force spokesman Trajan Evans of Iron County Attorney’s Office.
Schuessler is Iron County Jail’s second inmate death in a little over a month.
As previously reported, Jeremy Nobis, 52, a former Olympic skier, was found dead in his cell on April 19. Although the cause of Nobis’ death has not yet been released, Evans said on Tuesday that the state medical examiner’s office is expected to release its findings soon.
In mid-August, after the state Office of the Medical Examiner’s investigations had been completed, Iron County public information officer Trajan Evans confirmed to Cedar City News that both Schuessler’s and Nobis’s death were ruled suicides.
Evans noted that the jail has mental health counseling available for inmates through Southwest Behavioral Health.
“If an inmate is deemed a suicide risk, then he or she will be placed on suicide watch and they are monitored every 15 minutes and are given restricted access to even more items than what they normally would have, Evans added. “Of course, if someone is not on watch, then it is harder to predict and protect them if they choose to commit suicide.”
Updated Oct. 26, 11:45 a.m. to include the state medical examiner’s determination and additional information about available mental health resources at the jail.
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