On April 15, 1985, a serene spring afternoon in the Ozarks turned tragic during a routine traffic enforcement operation near Ridgedale, Missouri. Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Jimmie Elliott Linegar, a 31-year-old male, was conducting a spot check alongside his partner at the intersection of U.S. Highway 65 and Missouri Highway 86, just south of Branson.
The officers were verifying driver's licenses and vehicle registrations when they flagged down a 1974 Chevrolet van bearing Nevada license plates. Unbeknownst to the troopers, the driver was not a typical traveler but a fugitive heavily involved in domestic terrorism.
The driver initially presented an Oregon license under an alias, but a subsequent radio check alerted Linegar that the individual might have an outstanding warrant for a weapons violation. As Linegar approached the driver's side of the van to investigate further, the suspect, later identified as David C. Tate, exited the vehicle brandishing a concealed MAC-11 automatic machine pistol. Without warning, Tate unleashed a barrage of gunfire. Linegar was struck eleven times, with several rounds bypassing his protective vest. His partner, Trooper Allen Hines, was also wounded in the exchange but managed to return fire as Tate fled into the dense, rugged terrain of the surrounding Ozark Mountains.
Linegar was rushed to Skaggs Community Hospital in Branson, where he succumbed to his injuries shortly after arrival, leaving behind a wife and two young children. The brutal nature of the ambush and the identity of the gunman triggered one of the most extensive manhunts in Missouri history. Authorities discovered that Tate was a member of 'The Order,' a violent neo-Nazi white supremacist group responsible for a string of armored car robberies and the murder of radio host Alan Berg in Denver. The van itself contained a cache of automatic weapons, hand grenades, and survivalist gear, indicating Tate’s preparedness for a prolonged confrontation with law enforcement.
For six days, hundreds of officers from local, state, and federal agencies, along with the Missouri National Guard, scoured the woods and waterways of Taney County. The search intensified as tracking dogs and helicopters swept the area. The manhunt concluded on April 20, 1985, when a resident in Forsyth, Missouri, reported a suspicious man near a park. Law enforcement converged on the location and apprehended Tate without further violence. He was found exhausted and hungry, still in possession of the weapon used to kill Trooper Linegar.
The legal proceedings against David Tate were held in Boone County on a change of venue due to the high profile of the crime in the Ozarks. In November 1985, a jury convicted Tate of first-degree murder for the death of Jimmie Linegar. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In a separate trial the following year, Tate received an additional life sentence plus fifteen years for the assault on Trooper Hines and armed criminal action. The legacy of Trooper Linegar is preserved through a stretch of highway renamed in his honor, serving as a permanent reminder of his sacrifice.
