On the night of October 15, 1984, Corporal Robert Whittington Klein, 39, of the Arkansas State Police was shot and killed while investigating a reported stolen truck in Windamere, Arkansas. Klein, a husband and father of three sons with 12 years of service, was struck by a single shot from a 12-gauge shotgun as he inspected the vehicle. The shot came after two inmates, Steven Douglas Hill and Michael Cox, had escaped from the Wrightsville Unit, broken into a home nearby, bound the occupants and stolen firearms and a truck.

The other trooper on scene returned fire. The escapees sheltered first in a greenhouse and then in an attic, leading to a prolonged standoff that ended when both surrendered around 5 a.m. Hill was later convicted of Klein’s murder and Cox received a lengthy prison sentence for his role. Does anyone have memories of that night or information about Corporal Klein’s service and family?