July 31, 2002     Los Gatos, California Since 1881 San Jose woman found dead of apparent suicide in Los Gatos By Gloria I. Wang A woman who had reportedly threatened suicide apparently went through with it at the Los Gatos Lodge last week. San Jose resident Reven Merrill, 43, was found dead in one of the lodge's rooms with gunshot wound to the head, along with a pistol. Merrill was found to have been reported missing from San Jose a day earlier, with a "notation that she had made suicidal comments to family and friends," said Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Sgt. Kerry Harris. At about 12:30 p.m. on July 24, police received a call from an employee of the lodge. A housekeeper had gone into Merrill's room and saw a woman with a gun. Officers arrived at the Los Gatos-Saratoga Road establishment, evacuated a few of the nearby rooms and tried to contact Merrill, but her phone was not answered. By the time officers entered her room, she was dead. Although the county has established Merrill's time of death as 12:47 p.m., Harris said she had apparently died before police arrived. Officers did not hear shotgun sounds. Harris said an investigation is ongoing. "Even if it doesn't appear to be suspicious, we have to check these things out," Harris said. "In any case where there's a death and it's not immediately attended to by a physician, we look into the circumstances and don't assume the obvious." "It's just a very sad thing," Harris said. "It's a real shame that people feel so desperate that they have to take these measures."