 | Sheriff Avis M. Dutcher
Sheriff Avis M. Dutcher, age 41 was shot and killed while attempting to serve a bench warrant on Claire Ratcliff. As Sheriff Dutcher and Marshal Lee Brier attempted to arrest Ratcliff, a scuffle began between Sheriff Dutcher and Ratcliff. Ratcliff then pulled out a hand gun and shot Sheriff Dutcher twice. Ratcliff then fled from the scene after shooting Sheriff Dutcher. As Ratcliff ran from the scene, Marshall Brier shot at Ratcliff, hitting him in the lower back. After a large manhunt, police were unable to locate Ratcliff. Sheriff Dutcher died several minutes after being shot.
Several days after Sheriff Dutcher was shot and killed, Ratcliffs’s body was found behind a freight depot with a second gun shot wound that appeared to be self inflicted.
Sheriff Dutcher was in his second term as the Sheriff of Warren County and was survived by his wife and five children.
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