Pima County Sheriff's Department, Arizona
End of Watch: Monday, August 9, 1948
Age: 33
Tour of Duty: 10 years, 6 months
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Fall
Date of Incident: August 9, 1948
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Deputy John Anderson was killed when he fell several hundred feet down Sabino Canyon after rescuing a lost hiker.
A boy was stranded on a narrow ledge. Deputy Anderson repelled down the cliff's edge, tied a rope to the boy's waist, and the boy was pulled to safety. When Deputy Anderson began his climb upward, he lost his grip and fell 900 feet into the pool of water wedged between two boulders. He was recovered eight hours later.
Deputy Anderson had been with the Pima County Sheriff's Department for 10.5 years. He was survived by his wife, parents, and two brothers.