On the night of October 16, 1980, Reeds Spring, Missouri lost a patrolman in an ambush. George August Moulat, 33, a U.S. Army veteran of the 82nd Airborne and a father of five who had served with the Reeds Spring Police Department for about a year, was found dead in his patrol car early the next morning. A city worker discovered him parked in a lot across from city hall; he had been shot through the driver’s side window with a 20-gauge shotgun and died of a single fatal gunshot wound to the head.

The shooting followed an earlier traffic stop that evening in which Moulat arrested a driver for driving under the influence and carrying a concealed weapon; while in custody that individual threatened Moulat and vowed retaliation upon release. The investigation resulted in the arrest and conviction of two suspects. Court testimony described James Stephens saying, after drinking, that he planned to shoot the officer, directing a witness to pull their vehicle alongside the parked patrol car while Stephens fired. The shotgun was later recovered after being dismantled and hidden in a rural area.

Does anyone have further details about George Moulat’s life in Reeds Spring or recall that night?