On Feb. 21, Sheriff’s Department Spokesman Rob Bryn seemed spry and witty as ever as he sat down with New Times reporters, doing what he did best: keeping the media in the loop and backing up his long-time friend and colleague Sheriff Ian Parkinson.
- PHOTO BY STEVE E. MILLER
- OLD SCHOOL: San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Rob Bryn, the go-to-guy for media across the county, had a laugh with New Times reporters two days before he died of apparent natural causes. He was 61.
Two days later, the department announced that Bryn was found dead in his home by deputies who had been sent for a welfare check after he failed to show up at work. He was 61.
No foul play is suspected, and medical examiners have preliminarily determined the cause of death to be natural causes.
He leaves behind two daughters.
Bryn had been with the department as its crime prevention specialist and public information officer since 2007. His local career began with the Morro Bay Police Department in 1982, after which he went to work with the San Luis Obispo Police Department from 1986 through 2005.
Bryn was well known by local media as the go-to man for the Sheriff’s Department, and was seldom more than a phone call away whenever he was needed. An old-school kind of guy, Bryn was one of the few public relations liaisons to proudly carry around a pager.
Department Cmdr. Aaron Nix told New Times, “[The loss] will be as traumatic for people in your industry as it is for ours.”
A public funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on March 10 at the Church of the Nazarene, 3396 Johnson Ave., in San Luis Obispo. The service will be followed by a graveside internment and a private reception for family and friends.
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