On October 29, 1981, Itasca County Deputy Sheriff Robert R. Lawson, 51, was killed in the line of duty during a standoff in the Pengilly/Grand Rapids area of Minnesota. The situation began when Audie Lynn Fox traveled to his father’s home to see his children and, after forcing his father at gunpoint to retrieve them, left with only one son. The next morning Deputy Lawson responded amid escalating tensions and multiple phone calls concerning the residence.

An 18-hour standoff followed before Fox was taken into custody. Fox was later indicted on two counts of first-degree murder, convicted by a district court jury for intentionally killing a peace officer performing his duties, and sentenced to life in prison.

If anyone has information about Deputy Lawson, his service that day, or remembers the events in Pengilly and Grand Rapids in October 1981, please share what you know.