Scholar's Death Still a Mystery

Last month's death of a Chinese scholar visiting at the Harvard Institute for International Development was the result of drowning, a spokesperson for Suffolk Country Medical Examiner Dr. Leonard Apkins said Thursday.

Gao Xaiomeng, an expert on agricultural development, was pronounced dead on February 18 after Cambridge fire fighters pulled him from the Charles River.

The spokesperson would not release any information other than the cause of Gao's death.

State police spokesperson Larry Gillis said the police will not continue to investigate the death. "Something like this is never 100 percent closed, but that's what we're going with," he said.

Gillis said it is not known how Gao entered the water but he said the police do not suspect foul play. State police investigators had been awaiting the results of the medical examiner's report and the a toxicology report, Gillis said.

Gao, who was 40, is survived by a wife and child in Beijing.