By RACHEL D’ORO
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – A high-ranking port official in Alaska’s largest city is under arrest, accused of twice trying to drown his 8-year-year-old daughter.

Todd Cowles is charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection with an incident last week at his family’s Anchorage home. Online court records don’t list an attorney for him.

A criminal complaint says Cowles told police he had been in great despair because he was having trouble at work.

Cowles is the engineer for the Port of Alaska in Anchorage. Port officials say he’s in charge of the port’s modernization project, which includes replacing aging and corroding docks.

According to the complaint, Cowles twice tried to push his daughter’s head in the bathtub while his wife was mailing a package, stopping both times when the girl screamed.