Senior Trooper Douglas Wayne Bland
West Virginia State Police
West Virginia
End of Watch: Tuesday, January 19, 1999

Biographical Info
Age: 26
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Date of Incident: Monday, January 18, 1999
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available

Trooper Bland was killed in a single car accident while responding to another accident. At 19:28 hours on January 18, 1999, Trooper Bland was dispatched to a vehicle accident by Pocahontas County dispatch. After Trooper Bland failed to arrive at the accident and failed to answer radio calls other officers began to search for him. At approximately 21:30 hours a civilian employee of the Pocahontas County Sheriff's Department located Trooper Bland's cruiser overturned in Knapps Creek next to West Virginia Route 39. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 00:09 hours on January 19. He had been with the agency for three years and is survived by his wife and his child.