Lancaster Police Department, South Carolina
End of Watch: Sunday, July 4, 1937
Age: 39
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: July 4, 1937
Weapon Used: Shotgun; 12 gauge
Suspect Info: Died in prison
Patrolman Frank Sowell was shot and killed following a car chase on US 521.
He and his partner had observed a suspicious vehicle sitting under a light at Main Street and Chesterfield Avenue at 0130 hours. When Patrolman Sowell's partner approached the vehicle and attempted to open the door it sped off. After several miles of pursuing the vehicle it struck another car and ran off the road.
As Patrolman Sowell approached it he was shot twice with a 12-gauge shotgun. The suspect fled but was later apprehended and sentenced to life in prison, where died in his 80s. The suspect had earlier escaped from the Caledonia, North Carolina, Prison Farm while imprisoned for murder.
Patrolman Sowell was survived by his wife and four children.