On the morning of March 27, 2020, Sergeant Ben Jenkins, 47, of the Nevada Highway Patrol was killed while on duty on a remote stretch of U.S. Highway 93 in White Pine County. Jenkins stopped to assist a motorist whose vehicle appeared disabled shortly before 6:00 a.m.; the encounter was not a chance meeting. The motorist opened fire, fatally wounding Jenkins, then took the officer’s patrol car and uniform and fled the scene. Several hours later a suspect was apprehended.

Jenkins was a veteran of the Army and Air National Guard and a recipient of the Nevada Department of Public Safety’s Gold Medal of Valor in 2011. He is described as a devoted family man and a highly respected officer. Few details are clear about the suspect’s motives beyond reports that the shooting followed the motorist’s attempt to avoid arrest. If anyone has information about Jenkins, the stop that morning, or what was seen on U.S. Highway 93 that day, please come forward.