Deputy Sheriff Oscar A. Beaver

Oscar A. Beaver

Deputy Sheriff Oscar Beaver was shot and killed as he attempted to arrest two notorious California train robbers, Chris Evans and John Sontag.

The two later shot and killed U.S. Deputy Marshal Vernon Wilson and Deputy Marshal Andrew McGennis the following month when they attempted to arrest the them at Sampsons Flat in Fresno County. A little less than a year later, Sontag was shot and killed and Evans was apprehended after a gun battle with a posse. Evans lost an eye and his right hand in the fight.

Chris Evans was convicted of the murder of all three officers and sentenced to life in Folsom Prison. He was paroled in 1912.

Deputy Beaver was survived by his wife and 3-year-old son and is buried at Lemore Cemetery in Lemore, California.