County Policeman James Thomas Fry

James Thomas Fry

County Policeman Tom Fry was shot and killed near the Lakeview Tourist Camp while attempting to arrest a juvenile for disorderly conduct.

He had arrested the boy's brother several weeks earlier on a murder warrant and placed him in jail. He returned to the tourist camp area, where he encountered the juvenile along the highway and was shot twice.

The subject was convicted of Policeman Fry's murder and sentenced to life in prison. He escaped from prison in 1940 and assumed a new identity. He settled in North Carolina and started a family after serving in WWII. Authorities located him in 1956 and re-arrested him. He was extradited to Georgia but paroled one month later.

Policeman Fry had served with the Fannin County Police Department for four years and had previously served as the elected sheriff for five years. He was survived by his wife, four children, and five grandchildren.