'Beloved' WPLG-TV News Anchor Found Dead In Home

MIAMI, FL— Saying his colleagues were "devastated," WPLG-TV's Michael Putney took to the air Monday to announce the death of gregarious news anchor Todd Tongen, who was found dead at his home by a family friend when his wife couldn't get in touch with him. The cause of death was not immediately available.

"We are saddened to have to report to you that a beloved member of our Local 10 family and of your family — Local 10 News anchor Todd Tongen — has died unexpectedly, tragically," Putney said during the noon newscast.

"Todd has been our friend, my friend, our colleague here for decades, working for us, working with us, delivering news to you for nearly 30 years," said Putney.

Tongen was hired by the ABC affiliate in December of 1989, initially doing the weather and then moving into news. He will be remembered for his entertaining features and his sense of humor.

"From that day, he was a favorite among our viewers for his quick wit, his honesty, his skill and of course his sense of humor," recalled Putney. "He was so funny. Viewers loved him. So did we. He was my very good friend, a trusted colleague. Believe me, our hearts are breaking today as we remember Todd. He was a terrific person, a wonderful colleague."

In recent years, the 56-year-old Tongen anchored the weekend morning news on WPLG-TV with co-anchor Neki Mohan, who described Tongen as her creative soulmate.

"We always said: 'We took the news seriously, but we never took ourselves seriously,'" Mohan recalled on the air.

One of Tongen's proudest moments was covering Hurricane Andrew in 1992, according to Putney. His coverage of the storm earned him an appearance on ABC Television's "Nightline" at the time.

A Minnesota native, Tongen broke into the business as a radio disc jockey on KMRS-AM country radio station. His radio career took him to Grand Junction, Colorado before Tongen landed his first TV job as a movie host and weatherman on KJCT TV.

Before joining WPLG, he was a feature reporter and weatherman at KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas. Tongen famously once ate crawfish with Bill Clinton before Clinton landed in the White House, WPLG said.

For years, Tongen did a regular feature at WPLG in which he interviewed celebrities in a converted 1967 Checker taxi cab that was dubbed "10 Taxi." WPLG said Tongen's celebrity passengers included Dana Carvey, Joan Rivers, David Cassidy, Vin Diesel, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ed McMahon and Eva Mendez.

Once asked to describe himself in a single word, Tongen replied simply: "Funny. To me being funny is serious."

Tongen was married to his wife Karen, who was traveling overseas on Monday. He is also survived by his two children: Tyler and Ryker.