Wildlife Officer Lloyd O’Neil Mayse, 34, was shot and killed on November 27, 1980, in Northampton County, North Carolina while conducting early-morning hunting license checks. During the encounter with two brothers, a struggle occurred and Officer Mayse was fatally shot. One brother survived, hid Officer Mayse’s body and disposed of his shirt, badge, and the murder weapon in a nearby pond, then fled to Virginia. The other brother, a fugitive from Virginia, was later arrested after a vehicle pursuit on I-264 in Virginia. At trial the arrested brother was acquitted of murder after claiming his deceased brother had fired the fatal shot.

Mayse was a Vietnam veteran who served as a Green Beret and was described as highly respected by colleagues and the community. His death was a loss to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the law enforcement community.