James Melvin Short was a 40-year-old taxi driver from Purcell, Oklahoma, murdered after two inmates escaped the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on June 23, 1977. The escapees, Paul Ruiz and Earl Van Denton, were serving life sentences for armed robbery and murder. On July 1, the pair reached Purcell and stole Short’s taxi; he was killed and his body was later found in Grady County.

Short’s death was one of several killings during the fugitives’ cross-state crime spree that also included the slayings of a town marshal and a park ranger in Arkansas. A large manhunt ended with the capture of Ruiz and Van Denton in Oregon and their extradition to face charges for the murders.

Does anyone have memories of Purcell in 1977 or information about James Short’s life and work that could add context to this case?