Ultimate Survivor Alaska's Jimmy Gojdics Shot to Death Near Fairbanks

Homesteader, who went by Jimmy Gaydos on the Nat Geo show, was 69

A sad day on the homestead.

Jimmy Gojdics, a man of many rugged trades who competed on National Geographic Channel's Ultimate Survival Alaska, died Sunday of gunshot wounds he suffered at a home near Fairbanks, Alaska. He was 69.

Alaska State Troopers confirm that they responded to a report of a shooting at a residence on the Old Elliott Highway outside of Fairbanks. James "Jimmy" Gojdics was found at the scene suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. He was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

"We are investigating it as a homicide at this point in time," the AST's public information officer tells E! News.

His remains have been sent to the Office of the State Medical Examiner for an autopsy and an investigation by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation is ongoing.

Gojdics, spelling his last name as Gaydos, competed for the Woodsmen team on the second season of Ultimate Survival Alaska, described on the show's Nat Geo website as "not about money or a prize" but "about pushing the limits of human endurance."

He was described as a "homesteader" who spent time working as a "fisherman, horse wrangler and trainer, blacksmith, forest service firefighter, carpenter, ironworker on skyscrapers and large bridges, gold prospector, river guide, and wilderness guide."