Special Agent Ralph N. Shaw

Ralph N. Shaw

Special Agent Ralph Shaw and Special Agent James Lunn died in a plane crash during an operations flight in support of Mexico's opium eradication program.

The single-engine de Havilland Beaver crashed into a 12,000-foot mountain near Atoyac de Alvarez, Mexico, during a period of low visibility due to a thick haze. Mexican federal narcotics agent Noe Echaustegui was also killed in the crash.

Special Agent Shaw had served with the Drug Enforcement Administration for eight years. He had previously served with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service for six years and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office. He was survived by his parents, brother, and sister.