#Christopher Sign, Alabama news anchor who broke Clinton tarmac story, dead at 45

A “passionate” Alabama TV anchor and former college football player who broke the infamous Bill Clinton tarmac meeting with then-Attorney General Lorreta Lynch died Saturday, according to reports and his employer.

Christopher Sign, 45, was found dead Saturday morning by Hoover police in his Scout Terrace home, according to Al.com. The death is being investigated as a suicide, Hoover Lt. Keith Czeskleba said, according to the outlet.

“Chris was a tremendous leader in our newsroom,” wrote ABC 33/40 on Saturday in tribute.

“He worked with our reporting staff on a daily basis, but also worked behind the scenes with the I-Team and with news managers on coverage of major events.  You were very likely to get an email from him with a story idea in the middle of the night. He was passionate about journalism and showed it each and every day as he pushed himself and his colleagues to be the best.” 

Sign had three boys with his wife Laura, according to the local ABC affiliate.

“Our deepest sympathy is shared with Christopher’s loving family and close friends,” said ABC 33/40 vice president and general manager in a statement.

“We have lost a revered colleague who’s indelible imprint will serve forever as a hallmark of decency, honesty and journalist integrity,” he added. “We can only hope to carry on his legacy. May his memory be for blessing.”

The Dallas-area native had in 2017 returned to Alabama to anchor the ABC station’s evening news show, after working for a TV station in Phoenix. While there, Sign broke the major 2016 presidential campaign news that former president Clinton in June 2016 met at Sky Harbor Airport with Lynch while the attorney general was investigating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of an private email server.

Sign, who played offensive lineman at Alabama in the 1990s, wrote a book about the encounter named “Secret on the Tarmac.”