Inspector Charles E. Jones, a 42-year-old male of English ethnicity, served with the United States Customs Service for seven years. On the night of March 19, 1908, he and Mounted Inspector Charles Logan were patrolling the riverbank near the intersection of Findley Avenue and Cebada Street in El Paso, Texas, searching for smugglers. It was a dark night, and the two inspectors, who were border riders, had tied their horses to the same bush about sixty feet from where their bodies were later
found.
Tragically, Inspector Jones and Inspector Logan were shot and killed. People in the vicinity reported hearing three shots at around 9:00 p.m. The subsequent investigation concluded that in the darkness, the two inspectors mistook each other for smugglers, leading to the fatal shooting. Inspector Jones was shot through the right breast, while Inspector Logan had a bullet hole through the heart. The close-range nature of the shots was evident from the powder burns on their clothing.
Inspector Jones was survived by his wife, three children, and four siblings. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Evergreen Cemetery in El Paso, Texas. The incident was determined to be an inadvertent case of mistaken identity.
There were no arrests, suspects, or litigations related to the death of Inspector Jones, as it was concluded to be an accidental shooting. The case did not lead to any murder charges or further investigations, as it was deemed a tragic accident rather than a deliberate act of violence.
