On June 30, 1980, 29-year-old deputy sheriff Hiram A. Ritchie of Hazard, Kentucky, was killed near Buckhorn Lake while serving papers for the Perry County Sheriff’s Department. Ritchie and another deputy encountered four brothers sitting on a bridge railing; when the deputies moved to arrest one man a gunfight erupted. The brothers and their father, who arrived at the scene, all exchanged gunfire. Deputy Ritchie was fatally wounded and died instantly. The other deputy suffered a serious abdominal gunshot wound but survived. One suspect was shot in the leg.

All five men involved were arrested and charged with murder. One brother was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years. Two other brothers were convicted of reckless homicide and received two- and four-year prison terms. The father, who admitted shooting the second deputy and said he acted in self-defense, was acquitted.

Are there readers with memory of the Buckhorn Lake area in 1980 who can shed light on what led to that confrontation?