Sheriff William Van Camp

William Van Camp

Sheriff William Van Camp was shot and killed while investigating a report of two suspicious men sitting in a car in the woods. Both suspects were discovered in the Ohio Penitentiary six months later where they were both serving a 25 year sentence for robbing the Farmers Bank in Greenville. They were released on August 18, 1939. There seemed to be some kind of mix-up because they were supposed to be turned over to Indiana authorities. Six weeks later Sheriff Van Camp's killer was apprehended in Wheeling, West Virginia, after he resisted arrest and was shot by a police officer. He was returned to Indiana and died on October 28, 1939, in the Franklin County Jail from his gunshot wound.

The other suspect was apprehended in Ohio four weeks after being released. He was returned to Franklin County where he was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years.

Sheriff Van Camp, a WWI Army veteran, had served with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department for three years.