Egypt's general prosecution ordered investigations into the death of an American citizen who was found hanged in his police cell in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia on Sunday.
The initial prosecution report said the body of James Henry, 55, was found hanging by a shoelace and a black belt at noon in Ismailiya Awal police station.
The US Embassy in Cairo confirmed "that a US citizen prisoner in Ismailia died from an apparent suicide."
"The embassy is in contact with authorities regarding the case and continues to provide all consular services," an embassy official told AFP.
Henry, who told authorities he was a retired officer, was arrested on 28 August on North Sinai's Al-Arish road with "a map of Egypt and a modern electronic device currently being examined," the prosecution's report stated.
On the day of his arrest, Egyptian officials announced that police had found Henry in the possession of "maps of Sinai's borders" and "historical documents."
Officials said he was detained for violating a curfew imposed because of the latest wave of political unrest sweeping the country.
Henry was stopped on the road between North Sinai's cities of Al-Arish and Rafah and told authorities he was on his way to the neighbouring Gaza Strip.
Officials told AFP that a US embassy delegation had visited Henry in his cell last week.
Henry's death comes a day after being told that authorities were extending his preventative detention by another 30 days.
Henry is the second known foreigner to die in an Egyptian prison since the popularly-backed military ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in July, which was followed by a state of emergency and curfew in order to curb unrest.
In September, a French citizen was beaten to death by cellmates in a Cairo jail. He had reportedly been arrested at a checkpoint.
