Corporal Ronnie Fox along with McAlester Police Detective David J. Sheehan and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics agent Bill Morgan of Oklahoma City were flying in an airplane searching for marijuana fields in the Jack Fork Mountains. The plane crashed and exploded killing all three instantly. It was later determined the crash was due to pilot error.
He was the son of Lawson Fox and Willie M. Armstrong.
____________________
A McAlester police officer who died in an airplane crash while on duty nearly 35 years ago would have been 73 today.
Ronnie Fox, a corporal who joined the McAlester Police Department in 1973, died in an airplane crash while on duty in July of 1981. Fox and McAlester Police Detective David Sheehan perished while searching for marijuana patches in the Jackfork Mountains in Pittsburg County.
Ronnie’s widow, Bettie Fox, described Ronnie Fox as a loving and professional person.
“He loved being a police officer,” Bettie Fox said of her husband. “And everybody, even the criminals, loved him. He would always give everyone a chance.”
Bettie Fox said the couple first met through a friend.
“He was introduced to me by a friend and it was just like that, first sight for both of us,” Bettie Fox said.
She said she still mourns his death. It is important to her the community remembers the officers’ sacrifice.
“I wanted to keep (his memory) going,” Bettie Fox said. “I want the world to know that he was very special to me.”
McAlester Police Chief Gary Wansick said he started at the McAlester Police Department the same month the accident happened.
“I heard a lot of amazing stories about Ronnie and was associated with David,” Wansick said. “I remember specifically Ronnie being a happy, fun-loving guy and was well-liked by the members of the police department.”
(McAlester News Capital, by Parker Perry, July 13, 2016, With Permission)
He was the son of Lawson Fox and Willie M. Armstrong.
____________________
A McAlester police officer who died in an airplane crash while on duty nearly 35 years ago would have been 73 today.
Ronnie Fox, a corporal who joined the McAlester Police Department in 1973, died in an airplane crash while on duty in July of 1981. Fox and McAlester Police Detective David Sheehan perished while searching for marijuana patches in the Jackfork Mountains in Pittsburg County.
Ronnie’s widow, Bettie Fox, described Ronnie Fox as a loving and professional person.
“He loved being a police officer,” Bettie Fox said of her husband. “And everybody, even the criminals, loved him. He would always give everyone a chance.”
Bettie Fox said the couple first met through a friend.
“He was introduced to me by a friend and it was just like that, first sight for both of us,” Bettie Fox said.
She said she still mourns his death. It is important to her the community remembers the officers’ sacrifice.
“I wanted to keep (his memory) going,” Bettie Fox said. “I want the world to know that he was very special to me.”
McAlester Police Chief Gary Wansick said he started at the McAlester Police Department the same month the accident happened.
“I heard a lot of amazing stories about Ronnie and was associated with David,” Wansick said. “I remember specifically Ronnie being a happy, fun-loving guy and was well-liked by the members of the police department.”
(McAlester News Capital, by Parker Perry, July 13, 2016, With Permission)
Corporal Ronnie Fox along with McAlester Police Detective David J. Sheehan and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics agent Bill Morgan of Oklahoma City were flying in an airplane searching for marijuana fields in the Jack Fork Mountains. The plane crashed and exploded killing all three instantly. It was later determined the crash was due to pilot error.
He was the son of Lawson Fox and Willie M. Armstrong.
____________________
A McAlester police officer who died in an airplane crash while on duty nearly 35 years ago would have been 73 today.
Ronnie Fox, a corporal who joined the McAlester Police Department in 1973, died in an airplane crash while on duty in July of 1981. Fox and McAlester Police Detective David Sheehan perished while searching for marijuana patches in the Jackfork Mountains in Pittsburg County.
Ronnie’s widow, Bettie Fox, described Ronnie Fox as a loving and professional person.
“He loved being a police officer,” Bettie Fox said of her husband. “And everybody, even the criminals, loved him. He would always give everyone a chance.”
Bettie Fox said the couple first met through a friend.
“He was introduced to me by a friend and it was just like that, first sight for both of us,” Bettie Fox said.
She said she still mourns his death. It is important to her the community remembers the officers’ sacrifice.
“I wanted to keep (his memory) going,” Bettie Fox said. “I want the world to know that he was very special to me.”
McAlester Police Chief Gary Wansick said he started at the McAlester Police Department the same month the accident happened.
“I heard a lot of amazing stories about Ronnie and was associated with David,” Wansick said. “I remember specifically Ronnie being a happy, fun-loving guy and was well-liked by the members of the police department.”
(McAlester News Capital, by Parker Perry, July 13, 2016, With Permission)
He was the son of Lawson Fox and Willie M. Armstrong.
____________________
A McAlester police officer who died in an airplane crash while on duty nearly 35 years ago would have been 73 today.
Ronnie Fox, a corporal who joined the McAlester Police Department in 1973, died in an airplane crash while on duty in July of 1981. Fox and McAlester Police Detective David Sheehan perished while searching for marijuana patches in the Jackfork Mountains in Pittsburg County.
Ronnie’s widow, Bettie Fox, described Ronnie Fox as a loving and professional person.
“He loved being a police officer,” Bettie Fox said of her husband. “And everybody, even the criminals, loved him. He would always give everyone a chance.”
Bettie Fox said the couple first met through a friend.
“He was introduced to me by a friend and it was just like that, first sight for both of us,” Bettie Fox said.
She said she still mourns his death. It is important to her the community remembers the officers’ sacrifice.
“I wanted to keep (his memory) going,” Bettie Fox said. “I want the world to know that he was very special to me.”
McAlester Police Chief Gary Wansick said he started at the McAlester Police Department the same month the accident happened.
“I heard a lot of amazing stories about Ronnie and was associated with David,” Wansick said. “I remember specifically Ronnie being a happy, fun-loving guy and was well-liked by the members of the police department.”
(McAlester News Capital, by Parker Perry, July 13, 2016, With Permission)
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