Guard John Cleophus "Johnny" Ford

John Cleophus "Johnny" Ford

Guard Johnnie Ford drowned while searching for two escaped prisoners in Sugarland, Texas.

At approximately 2:45 p.m., Guard Ford had taken a squad of convicts to cut wood near the Brazos River about seven miles from the prison farm. Two of the prisoners fled into the woods and river bottoms. Guard Ford and several other guards pursued the convicts. The officers were on horseback and located a spot on the river where they thought the prisoners had crossed. Guard Ford started across the river when his horse floundered, and he fell into the river. Ford went under, came to the surface, and disappeared. The horse went on across the river. The other guards dragged the river and later recovered his body.

Guard Ford had served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for approximately nine years, assigned to the Central State Prison Farm. He was survived by his wife.

He is buried in the Rayburn Cemetery in Madisonville, Madison County, next to a daughter who died at birth in 1920.

The Central State Prison Farm was opened in 1909 and closed in 2011. Most of the prison land has been redeveloped.