In the cold of a Minnesota winter, on January 27, 1911, the life of 49-year-old Deputy Sheriff Henry McCabe of Cass County came to an abrupt and violent end. A male officer of the law, McCabe was carrying out his duties at Morris Point, a summer resort situated on the shores of Leech Lake near Walker. He was there to investigate a report of stolen goods, a task that would tragically be his last.
The investigation led Deputy McCabe to the resort's caretaker and his wife. Believing the wife to be involved with the stolen property, McCabe attempted to place her under arrest. As he proceeded to handcuff the woman, her husband, the 29-year-old caretaker, intervened with deadly force. He fired a shotgun, striking McCabe in the abdomen with a load of buckshot. The sudden violence of the act shattered the winter quiet of the lakeside resort.
Despite the grave nature of his injury, the suspect was apprehended later that same day. The caretaker and his wife were both taken into custody for their roles in the death of the deputy. The legal process that followed saw the husband convicted of first-degree murder, while his wife was found guilty of second-degree murder. Both were sentenced to life in prison for their parts in the crime that ended Deputy Sheriff Henry McCabe's life. The husband, who maintained that the shooting was an accident, was eventually granted parole on February 11, 1938, after serving 27 years of his sentence.
