On September 17, 2025, Detective Mark Baker, 53, was one of three Northern York County Regional Police detectives killed in an ambush at a rural home on Haar Road in North Codorus Township near Spring Grove, Pennsylvania. Baker, Detective Sergeant Cody Becker, and Detective Isaiah Emenheiser had returned to the property to locate and arrest 24-year-old Matthew James Ruth on stalking, loitering and prowling at nighttime, and criminal trespass allegations linked to his ex-girlfriend.

Investigators say Ruth was hiding on the property and, when detectives opened an unlocked front door, he opened fire with an AR-style rifle fitted with a suppressor. Baker, Becker, and Emenheiser were fatally struck; another Northern York County Regional Police officer was seriously wounded and York County deputy Lt. David Godfrey was also shot. Surviving officers returned fire and Ruth was fatally shot at the scene. The York County Coroner ruled the three detectives deaths homicides; all three died of multiple gunshot wounds. A family black Labrador was also found dead inside the home.

Baker’s death devastated the Spring Grove and York County communities; he is remembered as a dedicated detective killed while responding to what began as a domestic stalking investigation. If anyone has information about the events leading up to the ambush or knew the victim or the property, please share what you know.