Trooper Ralph D. Bates

Ralph D. Bates

Trooper Ralph Bates was shot and killed after he stopped a suspect driving a stolen car on Highway 30, ten miles east of Arlington.

A motorist passing by found Trooper Bates lying on the pavement next to his patrol car. The motorist called in the incident on the patrol car's radio. Investigators discovered that Bates had written down the license plate number of the automobile and officers throughout the region were put on the alert. About 3 ½ hours later two officers pulled over the suspect's car near Condon.

The subject was arrested and committed to the Oregon State Hospital, where he died in 1963.

Trooper Bates was a U.S. Navy veteran. He had served with the Oregon State Police for only six months. He was survived by his parents.