BUFFALO, NY – The brother of the acting mayor of Buffalo, New York, died after falling from a tree while hunting, authorities said.

Mayor Pro Tem Chris Scanlon said in a statement Thursday that his family had “suffered a sudden and tragic loss” of his brother Mark Scanlon, who died “while doing one of the things he enjoyed most: hunting.”

New York State Police said in a news release that officers went to look for a hunter who had not returned to his parked vehicle in the town of East Otto, about 50 miles south of Buffalo, on Wednesday evening. evening.

They found Mark Scanlon, 54, in a wooded area dead from an apparent fall from a portable tree, police said, adding that there were no signs of foul play.

Mark Scanlon was a sergeant with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office and “a beloved husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle and friend, loved by all who knew him,” Chris Scanlon said.

Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said in a statement that the department “saddens the loss of Sergeant Mark Scanlon, a veteran and valued member of our Jail Management Division.” Garcia said grief counselors will be available for Scanlon’s colleagues.

Chris Scanlon, a Democrat, became acting mayor of New York’s second-largest city on Oct. 15 following the resignation of Mayor Byron Brown, who resigned to run an off-track betting agency.

Scanlon, 43, had been president of the Buffalo Common Council. He will serve the remainder of Brown’s term, which ends Dec. 31, 2025.