Deputy Sheriff Otho H. Munger

Otho H. Munger

Deputy Sheriff Otho Munger was shot and killed in Athol, Kansas, while attempting to arrest two subjects whom he believed had robbed his pharmacy two weeks earlier.

Following the initial robbery, Deputy Munger was commissioned as a deputy sheriff for the western half of Smith County.

It is believed that Deputy Munger recognized the two men and began following them. When they were approximately one mile east of the city they stopped their vehicle just after crossing a set of railroad tracks on J Road. Deputy Munger pulled alongside of them and exited his car, at which point he was shot with a large caliber revolver.

The subjects then transferred their belongings to Deputy Munger's car and stole it. The car was later found abandoned in Superior, Nebraska. On August 10, 1921, both suspects were discovered in a jail in Nelson, Nebraska. They were awaiting trial for an armed robbery they committed in Beaver City two months earlier. Kansas officials wanted them but were told they could have them after they paid their debt to Nebraska. They were both convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to seven years. It is not known if they were ever returned to Kansas.

Deputy Munger had served with the Smith County Sheriff's Office for approximately two weeks. He was survived by his wife, son, parents, and sister.