Sheriff Martin Moore

Martin Moore

Sheriff Martin Moore was shot and killed while attempting to serve a warrant on a man who threatened him with a shotgun in Rolla.

Sheriff Moore had previously gone to the man's home after receiving a report of a disturbance. When he arrived, he was attacked and beaten, then threatened by the man, and ordered to get off of the property. When Sheriff Moore returned with a warrant for the man's arrest, he was attacked again by the man's friends and then shot by the man.

Sheriff Moore's killer was convicted of his murder and sentenced to life. He appealed his conviction and was released on a $30,000 bond. On the day the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the conviction, the suspect disappeared. Hamilton County Sheriff A.C. Kibles searched for the suspect, and also disappeared. The fate of both men remains a mystery.

Sheriff Moore was elected Sheriff of the Morton County Sheriff's Office in November 1914. He was survived by his wife, four sons, and one daughter.