Lieutenant William Douglas Oyler, 39, was killed on the night of January 8, 1982, while responding to a report of shots fired at Locust Avenue and 33rd Street in Buena Vista, Virginia. Arriving at the scene, he was ambushed by an assailant concealed in nearby woods; before he could exit his cruiser he was shot in the neck and died that day at Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Lexington.

Oyler was a long-serving member of the Buena Vista Police Department and an active community leader, having served as president of the Fraternal Order of Police and as past president of the Shenandoah Crime Clinic and the Buena Vista Fire Department. The shooter was arrested, convicted of murder, and sentenced to 53 years in prison. Oyler was survived by his wife, a son, and three daughters and is buried in Green Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Buena Vista.

Did anyone in the community have information about Oyler’s movements that night or remember unusual activity near Locust Avenue and 33rd Street?