Laramie County Sheriff's Office, Wyoming
End of Watch: Monday, May 1, 1916
Age: 42
Tour of Duty: 6 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 1, 1916
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Sheriff Frank Roach was shot and killed as he and several other officers attempted to arrest horse thieves near Granite Canyon, Wyoming.
Sheriff Roach formed a posse, which included a local rancher, and followed the trail of two men who had just stolen three horses from the rancher. A gunfight resulted when they caught up with the suspects. The Sheriff and the rancher were shot and killed.
The suspects were arrested just over the Colorado state line with Sheriff Roach's rifle and the rancher's revolver in their possession.
The suspects, 21 and 27, confessed to shooting both men. One was sentenced to hang for killing Sheriff Roach; the death sentence was later commuted to life in prison. The other suspect was sentenced to life in prison for killing the rancher. Both went to the Colorado Penitentiary. The 27-year-old was paroled in 1953 and the other in 1960.
Sheriff Roach had served with the agency for six years and was survived by his wife and child.