Chris Burrous joined KTLA in 2011. He is survived by a wife and 9-year-old daughter.
KTLA Weekend Anchor Chris Burrous was found unconscious in a motel room in Glendale Thursday afternoon and later died at a hospital.
His weekend co-anchor, Lynette Romero, tweeted a picture taken of herself and Burrous smiling on set, with a Christmas tree in the background.
Police received a call at about 1:15 p.m. from a man who said a man at the Days Inn, located at 450 Pioneer Drive, had passed out and was possibly not breathing, according to Sgt. Dan Suttles of the Glendale Police Department.
Glendale firefighters responded to the scene and found Burrous inside a room and not breathing, Suttles said. CPR was administered and he was taken to a hospital where he died.
The original call to police stated Burrous may have overdosed, but detectives will await the Los Angeles County coroner's office report for a determination of the cause of death, Suttles said.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Burrous family," KTLA President and General Manager Don Corsini and news director Jason Ball said in a joint statement Thursday. "Chris loved sharing the stories of Southern California and connecting with our viewers. He will be remembered as a great journalist and a wonderful friend to many. He brought kindness to his work and will be deeply missed by the entire KTLA family."
"There are no words," Romero wrote. "When we took this picture during our show I had no idea it would our last time together. You made me laugh until I cried. My tears now are for your sweet little girl, your wife Mai and your dear parents. We will miss you so…"
Burrous graduated from Chapman University in Orange with a degree in broadcast journalism and began a two-decade career in news starting at KCKC-AM and KCXX-FM in San Bernardino while he was still in school. He moved on to KNTV-TV and KLIV-AM in San Jose, then KEVN-TV in Rapid City, South Dakota. He joined KGET in Bakersfield in 1999 as a morning news anchor.
Burrous' career led him to KGPE in Fresno, KMAX in Sacramento and KTLA sister station WPIX in New York City. He told the New York Daily News he asked for a transfer to Los Angeles so his daughter could grow up near her grandparents, according to Channel 5.
His weekend "Burrous' Bites" segments highlighted hole-in-the-wall eateries in Southern California.