Fox News reporter who covered Ferguson riots dead by apparent suicide

Dominic Di-Natale(Photo: Twitter/Dominic Di-Natale)

Fox News international correspondent Dominic Di-Natale was found dead in his apartment in Jefferson County, Colorado on Wednesday. The county coroner reported that the cause of death is suicide.

Di-Natale, 43, covered protests in Egypt, the killing of Osama bin Laden and, most recently, the riots in Ferguson, Missouri following the death of Michael Brown.

Officials say that Di-Natale owned property in the county, and that a friend of his called authorities and requested a welfare check. Reportedly, the journalist was suffering from serious, undisclosed, health conditions.

"We were extremely saddened to learn of Dominic's passing and send our deepest condolences to his family and friends," a Fox News spokesperson said in a statement. "He was an esteemed journalist and an integral part of our news coverage throughout the Middle East."

Di-Natale was born in Britain, and began his journalism career in 1989 as a magazine writer in Portugal covering the European drug trade. He freelanced for several national newspapers before joining BBC World as a correspondent.

In 2007 he began working for Fox News, and covered international news, business, and economics.

After the death of bin Laden, Di-Natale chiseled a brick from the al-Qaeda compound in Pakistan, and donated it to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Those who knew Di-Natale said he had a heart for soldiers.

"So sad to hear Fox's Dominic Di-Natale has died," Fox anchor Megyn Kelly tweeted. "A great reporter, who off-air was always trying to help US troops. I will miss him."

"Dominic Di-Natale loved the military & never walked away from a tough story, died at 43. Rest in peace," said former US Marine gunnery sergeant Jessie Jane Duff.

Di-Natale was most recently a freelancer contributor out of the Fox News West Coast bureau in Los Angeles before resigning on November 30.