Natrona County Sheriff's Department, Wyoming
End of Watch: Thursday, January 2, 1902
Age: 60
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: January 2, 1902
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Lynched by mob
Sheriff W.C. Ricker was shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a jail escapee.
The suspect was later apprehended in Billings, Montana. The man was convicted of Sheriff Ricker's murder and sentenced to death. Several days before his hanging the State Supreme Court issued a stay of execution. On March 29, 1902, a group of angry citizens took him from the county jail and hanged him.
Sheriff Ricker was a U.S. Army veteran of the Indian Wars and Spanish American War. He was survived by his wife and four children.