Sheriff Strain succumbed to a gunshot wound received five days earlier while attempting to arrest a man for making threats. The suspect was hiding in a cornfield and shot Sheriff Strain in the abdomen with a shotgun as the sheriff searched for him.

The suspect, who fled the scene and remained at large for 42 years, was finally recognized by a citizen and apprehended in Spokane, Washington. The murder warrant was sent for, but before it could be served the suspect died. He was 86.