Type of Officer: Sheriff
Jurisdiction: Kearny County
County: Kearny
Death Date: 8/3/1920
Added to Memorial: 1987
Circumstances of Death: Gunshot
An itinerant worker at a ranch was attempting to sell a car with Texas license plates. When the attempted sale was reported to the sheriff, he discovered a search was in progress for the vehicle. Hefner went to the ranch to arrest the suspect, Walter Tunis. Tunis accompanied Hefner to the sheriff’s car, but when the sheriff began to crank the car to start it, Tunis shot him in the back. The killer was tracked down and killed by a posse.

Panel: 11