Longtime WTOP evening anchor Dimitri Sotis dies at age 55

WASHINGTON, D.C. (7News) — Dimitri Sotis, the evening anchor who brought news and insight to WTOP listeners for more than 20 years, has died at age 55, the station confirmed Monday morning.

“It is with the greatest sadness and shock that I am writing this email to let you all know that our friend and colleague, Dimitri Sotis, has passed away,” said Joel Oxley, general manager of WTOP and president of Hubbard Radio Washington, DC, in an email to staff early Sunday, according to the news agency.

Sotis was found unresponsive at her home in Alexandria, Virginia late Saturday night, said the station.

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Listeners knew Sotis’ distinctive voice during his long tenure at WTOP, where he anchored the evening news from 7 to 11:30 p.m. He joined the station in 1999.

In 2012, Sotis and his team were honored with the prestigious National Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Major Radio Newscast. The award recognized WTOP’s coverage of the American mission that killed Osama bin Laden.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.