Deputy Sheriff Emery Jasper Whitten

Emery Jasper Whitten

Deputy Jasper Whitten and Constable William Wilmoth were shot and killed while attempting to recover a runaway juvenile at a farmhouse 12 miles from Idabel.

It was suspected that the juvenile was with a young man who was staying at the home of a local resident. At 9:00 a.m., when the deputies arrived at the residence, the deputies were unable to locate the juvenile or the young man. Another subject at the residence told the deputies to leave, or he would shoot them. When they asked a second time for the return of the runaway or the young man, the subject opened fire. Constable Wilmoth died that evening, and Deputy Whitten died the following day.

The suspect, who was wanted for bank robberies in the area, was convicted of the murders and sentenced to 99 years for each murder. On May 13, 1936, the suspect participated in an attempted prison escape. In that incident, Prison Guard Charles Powell of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections was shot and killed. The suspect was paroled on October 14, 1958.

The juvenile they were looking for had eloped in Texas with the young man, and neither was aware of the shooting. The man was arrested for his role in the bank robberies.

Deputy Whitten had served with the McCurtain County Sheriff's Office for ten years. He was survived by his wife and four children.