On a cold February day in 1994, Paxton, Massachusetts lost its police chief, 38-year-old Robert Mortell, in a fatal shooting. The incident began after a string of break-ins in nearby Holden. Three men — Michael Souza, Jamie Richards, and Kenneth Padgett — had committed two burglaries, became stuck with a stolen van in a snowbank, and then carjacked a Department of Public Works truck at gunpoint. That vehicle also became immobilized in the snow, and the trio fled on foot into nearby woods, separating as police closed in.

Chief Mortell responded with his police dog, located the suspects and pursued them into the woods. He confronted Michael Souza and an exchange of gunfire followed; Mortell was shot and killed. He was a husband and father of three young children. All three suspects were later taken into custody, and court outcomes followed for Souza, Richards and Padgett.

Who in Paxton or Holden remembers the man described as Chief Mortell, or saw anything in that area around the time of the break-ins and truck carjacking?