Auxiliary Deputy Steven W. Mayer, 22, was fatally shot in an ambush on July 16, 1983, in Homer Township, Will County, Illinois. Mayer and Auxiliary Sergeant Denis Foley, 50, had answered a call about a stranded motorist on 143rd Street between Gauger Road and State Street. When they approached a pickup truck, the driver asked for a jump start, then opened fire. Mayer died shortly after; Foley was critically wounded, later succumbing to his injuries about a month later.

The assailant also fired on a passing vehicle, killing the driver and wounding the passenger. The deputies’ firearms and wallets were taken and Mayer’s body was dragged into a ditch. Foley managed to radio for help, and a nearby farmer helped guide authorities to the scene.

Investigators connected the ambush to a series of violent crimes in the area. Milton Johnson was later convicted of several murders from that summer but was never charged in the deputies’ ambush; he has been identified as the primary suspect. Mayer had served with the Will County Sheriff’s Office for one year and was survived by his wife of two weeks, his parents, and siblings.

Did anyone in the area at that time see a pickup truck stopped on 143rd Street that night or remember someone asking for a jump start?