News : Committee seeks to honor memory of slain Sheriff Leland Fry

This drawing depicts a bust of Sheriff Leland Fry that may soon be on display outside courthouse.

A DMR story about law enforcement officers who died in line of duty includes Fry.

A 1938 newspaper photo of Sheriff Fry.

Artists will use these photos of Fry to make the 3D bust of the late sheriff.

Hazel Fry's scrapbook includes scores of cards, newspaper clippings, etc.

A 78-year-old scrapbook contains a lifetime of tributes to one of the Benton County lawmen who died in the line of duty.

Now a group of local residents is working to make sure the story of Sheriff Leland “Sam” Fry lives on in local history.

Fry was just about to face election for his second term in office, when he went to a house where a man who had fled from his office was reportedly hiding. That man, Leak Crow, had stolen boots and a fishing pole from a vehicle. He was brought to the sheriff’s office at the courthouse for questioning, then fled out a window.

Vinton police Captain Eric Dickinson, summarized what happened next in an article published in Vinton Today in May of 2010.

It was cold on November 4, 1938 when the Benton County Sheriff, Leland A. “Sam” Fry, and two other law enforcement officers went to the home of John McLennan in Garrison in search of an escaped prisoner named Leak C. Crowe.

Crowe had been arrested on October 15, 1938 for questioning after he had been suspected of stealing about $50.00 worth of items from a car in Vinton, and later escaped from the Benton County Jail. At approximately 1:30 p.m. that day, Sheriff Fry, acting on a tip, entered the McLennan house unarmed to confront Crowe, who responded by shooting Sheriff Fry in the abdomen with a Colt .45 automatic.

Fry died the next morning, leaving behind his wife, Hazel, and two children. A few days later, county residents honored Fry by electing Hazel to his former position.

Hazel could have served as sheriff, says Benton County Attorney Dave Thompson, who is working with the Fry committee. Instead, she chose to work in the auditor’s office as she raised her sons.

Hazel kept virtually everything she read from that awful era of her life. Her scrapbook contains scores of cards, telegrams, photos and letters from area residents.

Working with Thompson and the Fry family, as well as residents who still remember that 1938 event, the committee is working on a three-part memorial to Sheriff Fry. They hope to create a 7-foot-tall bust of the Fry for display outside the courthouse, as well as an indoor display of photos and other items from Fry’s life and career. The group also hopes to digitally preserve all of the items in the scrapbook for display via CD-ROM or some electronic method that will be available for purchase.

For now, the committee is hoping for two things. First, it hopes that anyone who remembers anything about that time will come forward to share their stories. Thompson has spoken to one man who was at the scene on that day, and hopes to find more people who knew Fry personally.

Second, the committee will soon begin fund-raising. The total cost of the monument, display and digital preservation of the scrapbook will cost up to $35,000.

For more information, visit the Sheriff Fry page on Facebook. Anyone with information about Fry is asked to call Thompson at 319-472-2436.