Hilton H. Ike Shoemake, 56, was killed in the line of duty on the night of Wednesday, December 26, 1990, in the Pleasant Grove area of Wayne County, Mississippi. A conservation officer with 13 years at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and manager of the Lake Bogue Homa area, Shoemake confronted a man who was illegally spotlighting deer at about 10:30 p.m. During that confrontation the poacher fired a .270 caliber rifle, fatally wounding Officer Shoemake.

The shooter was later arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 20 years in prison; that man died in custody in 2001. Officer Shoemake was survived by his wife and three children. What can anyone who knew Officer Shoemake or who was in the Pleasant Grove area that night add about the events leading up to the shooting?