Want to help families of two fallen SW Missouri deputies? Sheriff warns of scams
The Christian County Sheriff’s Office is warning people to use caution if they are donating to fundraisers for the families of its two deputies who were shot and killed, one in a traffic stop and the other in a shootout with the suspect hours later in southwest Missouri.
“The Christian County Sheriff’s Office has been made aware of scam attempts involving fraudulent donation requests claiming to benefit the families of our fallen deputies,” Sheriff Brad Cole said in a post on Facebook.
The Christian County Deputy Sheriff’s Office Association has established an official fund and is accepting donations via its Venmo account: @ChristianCoDeputySheriffAssoc.
The Christian County 100 Club has also set up way to donate to a fund on its website. The nonprofit organization provides financial support to the surviving spouses and dependent children of law enforcement, firefighters and EMS workers who have died in the line of duty in Christian County.
Deputy Gabriel Ramirez, 30, and Deputy Michael Hislope, 40, were killed in the line of duty earlier this week. Two other deputies — Christian County Deputy Joshua Wahl and Webster County Deputy Austin McCall — were injured during a shootout with the suspect, identified as Richard Dean Bird, 45, of Stone County.
Bird is suspected of killing Ramirez during a traffic stop around 4 p.m. Monday in Highlandville, about 190 miles southeast of Kansas City. He then drove away.
Authorities issued a Blue Alert seeking the public’s help in finding Bird and his vehicle, prompting an extensive manhunt that lasted hours.
Authorities eventually located him in a wooded area along Missouri 248 near Reeds Spring. Bird allegedly fired as law enforcement officers moved in to arrest him early Tuesday, striking Wahl and McCall. Hislope was fatally wounded attempting to assist the injured deputies, Cole said in a news release Tuesday afternoon.
Law enforcement ultimately rescued the wounded deputies and continued to exchange gunfire with Bird, who was fatally shot.
