Deputy Sheriff Oliver Rufus Crosswhite

Oliver Rufus Crosswhite

Deputy Crosswhite was shot and killed as he attempted to enter a farmhouse in search of two suspects.
Deputy Crosswhite had served in law enforcement for 10 years He served as constable in Polk county for five years, as Ash Grove city marshal for two years and as Greene County Deputy Sheriff for three years. He was survived by his wife, four sons, two daughters and his mother.

Two brothers considered local petty burglars killed a total of seven Law Enforcement Officers. After they killed Town Marshal Mark Noe on June 2, 1929, a massive manhunt began for the suspects. The two suspects were located at the family farmhouse on January 2, 1932. They had come to town to visit their mother for the Christmas holiday. A raiding party of eleven officers was formed to arrest the two brothers. As the officers surrounded the farmhouse gunfire erupted and in the end six officers lay dead.

The suspects escaped, and fled to Texas. They were located there by Houston Police and as police moved in the two suspects committed suicide.