Ken McElroy was 47 when he was killed in Skidmore, Missouri, on the morning of July 10, 1981. Long described in town as a bully, McElroy had a lengthy criminal record that included assault, theft, arson, and statutory rape and faced 21 indictments over the years; he was convicted of second-degree assault for shooting 70-year-old grocer Ernest Bo Bowenkamp and was released on bond pending appeal. After reportedly making further armed threats, McElroy was ambushed while sitting in his pickup truck with his wife, Trena, and was shot multiple times by at least two different firearms in front of a crowd estimated between 30 and 46 witnesses.

In the shooting’s aftermath a wall of silence fell over Skidmore. Trena McElroy accused a local rancher, but no charges followed. Multiple investigations, including by the FBI, and three grand juries produced no indictments. The killing remains officially unsolved. If anyone in Skidmore that morning saw something that has not been shared, can you come forward with information?