Bobby Millard Dillon

Bobby Millard Dillon was a 41-year-old truck driver, a husband, and a father known for his sense of humor. His son, Bobby Dillon, Jr., who was just eleven at the time of his father's death, remembers cherishing the time they had together when his dad was home from the road. The family often enjoyed watching John Wayne movies, and Bobby would try to make it home in time to see them. His son recalled telling his mother on one particular night that his dad needed to hurry or he would miss the movie. It was a night that would forever alter their lives.

On the evening of February 19, 1977, that John Wayne movie was about halfway through when a knock came at the Dillon family's door. It was a state trooper, accompanied by a neighbor and the wife of Bobby's boss. His mother knew instantly that something was terribly wrong. Hours earlier, Bobby Dillon, a White male, had been doing his job, driving his tractor-trailer along Interstate 81 South through Rockbridge County, Virginia. He pulled into the Fairfield Rest Area at mile marker 199 to use the restroom while his co-driver slept in the cab of the truck. It was there, in the quiet of the rest stop, that he was shot and killed.

First responders were initially dispatched for a report of a truck driver having a heart attack. When they arrived, they found Bobby Dillon lying on his back in the grass near his truck. He had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. The Rockbridge County Sheriff's Office and the Virginia State Police began a homicide investigation immediately. An autopsy confirmed the cause of death and recovered bullet fragments. Investigators believed the weapon was likely a.22-caliber rifle, but the bullets were too deformed to allow for a conclusive ballistic match to a specific firearm.

In the years following the murder, investigators canvassed the area, conducted interviews, and administered polygraphs to potential witnesses and suspects. They eventually identified a person of interest in the 1970s, a man they believed was a complete stranger to Dillon. Search warrants were executed, and a gun of the same caliber was recovered from the suspect. Investigators even located a tree stump where he had been firing his weapon and collected bullets from it, hoping for a match. However, the evidence was not strong enough. The bullet from the crime scene was unreadable, and without sufficient physical evidence or corroborating statements, charges were never filed.

For decades, the case grew cold, a painful and unresolved chapter for the Dillon family. In June 2022, the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation officially acquired the case, hoping a fresh look and modern resources might finally break it open. Investigators planned to re-interview the original suspect, only to discover that he had died from suspected COVID-19 complications shortly before they reopened the file. Despite this setback, law enforcement and Dillon's family remain hopeful that someone, somewhere, has the information needed to solve the crime.

As of February 2026, the investigation into Bobby Millard Dillon's murder is still active. His son has expressed that he isn't necessarily looking for "closure," a word he feels doesn't quite fit, but he hopes to one day find out who killed his father and why, bringing the case to an end. The Virginia State Police continue to seek clues and ask for the public's help. The case is listed on the state's Cold Case Database. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Salem at (540) 375-9528 or via email at [email protected].