Sheriff Crawford was shot and killed Saturday, April 10, 1943, as he and two other officers attempted to take a man into custody for a sanity hearing in his father's home. The man led the sheriff and a deputy upstairs where he open fired on them, killing Sheriff Crawford instantly. He then jumped from a window and ran into a wooded area where he was captured a short time later.

The suspect was declared insane and committed to a mental institution. In July 1949 he was found to be sane and charged with Sheriff Crawford's murder. He was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison on November 7, 1949. He died October 7, 1956.

Sheriff Crawford was 50 years old.

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