On December 30, 1905, Village Marshal Ole Havey of Hayfield, Minnesota, was tragically shot and killed while responding to a burglary in progress at the Dalen & Alrick Mercantile Store on Main Street. Ole Havey, born on December 16, 1865, had been serving as the City Marshal of Hayfield for three years. On that fateful night, he noticed suspicious activity inside the store and decided to investigate. As he entered the premises, he was confronted by the burglar, who shot him, resulting in his immediate death.
The suspect in this case was identified as Frank McVey, a drifter who had been moving through the area. McVey was apprehended shortly after the incident and was subsequently convicted of the murder of Marshal Havey. At the time of his arrest, McVey's age was not explicitly mentioned in the sources, but he was described as a transient individual with no fixed address. Following his conviction, McVey was sentenced to 36 years in Stillwater State Prison. He served his sentence and was released in 1942.
Marshal Ole Havey left behind a grieving family, including his wife, Lulu, and their three children, who were all under the age of ten at the time of his death. His death marked the first recorded law enforcement line-of-duty death in Dodge County, Minnesota, and his sacrifice is remembered and honored by the community to this day.
