Inmate death at Western North Carolina prison

An inmate at a Western North Carolina prison is dead after what officials say was an apparent suicide.

The NC Dept. Of Corrections says an inmate was found unresponsive in his cell at Mountain View Correctional Facility in Mitchell County, around 1 PM Wednesday.

He was pronounced dead despite life saving efforts from staff. The inmate has been identified as 38 year old, Jason William Martin. He was serving time as a habitual offender after being convicted in 2017. He had a little more than three years left on his sentence, at the time of his death.