In the summer of 1977, a male park ranger named Opal James became a tragic figure in a crime spree that shocked Arkansas. His death was not a singular event but rather the grim conclusion to a violent rampage by two escaped convicts, Paul Ruiz and Earl Van Denton. The duo had broken out of an Oklahoma prison and their path of terror led them into Logan County, Arkansas.
On June 29, 1977, Ruiz and Van Denton's desperation for a getaway vehicle led to the murder of town marshal Marvin
Ritchie. In the course of this crime, they also abducted park ranger Opal James and another ranger, David Small. The convicts needed James for his knowledge of the remote and rugged terrain to aid their escape. After shooting Ritchie and Small, leaving Small for dead, they forced James to guide them through the unfamiliar wooded backroads.
For two days, James's fate was unknown. His body was later discovered in a wooded area in Montgomery County. He had been killed by a single gunshot to the head. The stolen Corps of Engineers truck the convicts had used was abandoned nearby. The investigation quickly identified Ruiz and Van Denton as the prime suspects. Their flight from justice was extensive, leading them as far as Portland, Oregon, where they were apprehended on July 8, 1977.
The legal proceedings that followed were lengthy. Ruiz and Van Denton were extradited to Arkansas to face trial for the murders of both Marvin Ritchie and Opal James. A key witness against them was David Small, the ranger who had miraculously survived the initial shooting. His testimony was crucial in securing their convictions for capital murder. After a series of trials and appeals, both men were sentenced to death. Their executions were carried out on January 8, 1997, bringing a final, somber end to the violent saga that resulted in the death of Opal James.
