United States Department of the Treasury - United States Customs Service, U.S. Government
End of Watch: Saturday, March 19, 1932
Age: 48
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Date of Incident: March 19, 1932
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Inspector Ralph Bowden suffered a fatal heart attack just before midnight as he and two other inspectors were chasing four liquor smugglers who were attempting to smuggle four sacks of liquor across the Rio Grande near Collingsworth Addition, El Paso, Texas.
The inspectors saw the smugglers and started to chase them. They noticed Inspector Bowden was not acting naturally and saw him fall. He died almost immediately. The smugglers were captured and lodged in the city jail.
Inspector Bowden was survived by his wife, son, and daughter. He was buried in the Masonic Section of Concordia Cemetery in El Paso, Texas.