Royce is my stepdad. Our family doesn’t believe this was an accident. We’ve heard that a certain person was bragging about it and sharing specific details about how it happened. We just hope that one day the truth will come to light. The police were notified, but they did nothing.

Royce Gardner, a 46-year-old White male and U.S. Navy Desert Storm veteran, died on October 13, 2015 in Kasilof, Alaska, from an accidental gunshot wound. Alaska State Troopers and Central Emergency Services responded after a report of a gunshot wound; Gardner was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office.

According to investigators, Gardner was working on a vehicle at his residence when a revolver he had tucked into his waistband slipped out, struck the vehicle, and discharged. The bullet fatally struck Gardner. He had lived on the Kenai Peninsula for about 25 years, had raised a family with his life partner and her three children, and his sister Rayme Gardner of Oklahoma arranged a GoFundMe to bring his body home. No arrests were made; all accounts describe the death as a tragic accident involving a negligent discharge, not a criminal act by another person.

If anyone knew Royce or has information about the circumstances that morning, please share what is known.