Jeffrey Vaughn Mitchell was a 38-year-old deputy with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office who was killed in the early hours of October 27, 2006. While on patrol near Dillard and Meiss Roads he stopped a white Chevrolet van with no license plates and radioed dispatch at about 3:30 a.m., saying things seemed OK. Seven minutes later dispatch received clicks from his radio. Backup found Mitchell by the rear bumper of his patrol car, shot in the head with his own service weapon.

Investigators say Mitchell was in a violent struggle after beginning to handcuff a suspect; he lost control of his pistol and the suspect used it to shoot him. The white van had left the scene and was later found abandoned in the Cosumnes River about 20 miles away. Two bodies were discovered inside the van and are believed to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Mitchell had served nine years with the department and left a wife, Crystal Mitchell, and a 6-year-old son.

No suspect has been identified or apprehended; the department continues to seek information. Does anyone have information about that white Chevrolet van, its occupants, or movements near Dillard and Meiss Roads that night?