FRIENDS QUESTION MAN'S SUICIDE

Brown Hangs Self While In Police Custody

Those who knew 24-year-old free spirit Sam Lindsay-Brown say his
suicide while in a Washington state jail makes no sense.

A talented, hard-core mountain biker, Lindsay-Brown was a risktaker
but not suicidal, say those who knew him in Nelson.

"Sam was a super adventurous guy," said Chris Lawrence of the
Nelson-based movie production company Freeride Entertainment, who had
filmed Lindsay-Brown doing a variety of wild bike-riding stunts.

When he and others heard that Lindsay-Brown had died while in police
custody, they couldn't believe he had taken his own life. "Why was he
in a secluded cell?" said Lawrence. "There seems to be a lot of
questions. Every time I saw him he was so upbeat.

"This is a huge tragedy to lose a young guy who is super-talented and
a great guy. He was an amazing [bike] rider. He was always doing
things and he was always so upbeat and positive."

Lindsay-Brown, who had yet to become a licensed pilot, was arrested
Feb. 23 in a remote mountain area after allegedly flying a large Bell
206 helicopter loaded with 200 kilograms of B.C. bud from Sicamous
through mountains in fog and rain at night across the border into
Colville National Forest.

Five days after his arrest, Lindsay-Brown was found hanging from a
noose made from his bed sheet that had been attached to a light
fixture in an isolated cell at the Spokane County Jail.

According to Jodie Underwood of the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration, the investigation into Lindsay-Brown's death "is
still ongoing . . . we are being told he hanged himself."