Federal Worker Found Dead In Her Office

A Commerce Department employee was found dead in her fourth-floor office at the agency’s downtown headquarters on Friday.

The body was discovered around 7:45 a.m. by a co-worker arriving for work, police said.

The woman was identified as Barbara Alice Wise, 48, of Gambrills, Md. She had worked as a secretary for 14 years at the department’s International Trade Administration.

Anne Luzzatto, chief spokeswoman for Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor, said the unit where she worked provided analysis for various industries in studies designed to boost export sales.

The woman had been last seen alive at Commerce late Wednesday afternoon, before the agency closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

District of Columbia police spokesman J C Stamps said that an autopsy was being performed. He did not rule out foul play.