In the quiet town of Lamar, Colorado, a dedicated lawman's life was tragically cut short in the line of duty. Marshal James Horace Frisbie, a 49-year-old male, was serving as the Night Marshal when he encountered two suspicious men in front of the Lamar Union Hotel. In a sudden act of violence, one of the men drew a pistol and fired at Marshal Frisbie, the bullet striking him in the heart.
Despite the mortal wound, the Marshal managed to draw his own weapon and return fire as he fell to the ground on December 26, 1906.
The man responsible for Marshal Frisbie's death was already a wanted fugitive, sought for a train robbery in Malta, Colorado, as well as the shooting and robbery of a station agent in Leadville. Following the Marshal's murder, a manhunt ensued. Two weeks later, a posse located the suspect and an accomplice barricaded in a schoolhouse in Astor, Kansas. After a shootout, the two men surrendered to the officers.
The suspect was subsequently convicted for the murder of Marshal Frisbie and was sentenced to be hanged on May 4, 1907. However, in a turn of events, the Marshal's own widow requested that the governor commute the sentence. On August 24, 1907, Colorado Governor E. R. Harper commuted the suspect's sentence to life in prison. The story of the killer came to its own violent end when he later died during a failed attempt to escape from prison. Marshal Frisbie was survived by his wife and three sons and is laid to rest in the Riverside Cemetery in Lamar.
