Sheriff Roy Patterson was shot and killed when he attempted to arrest three robbery suspects.

August 17, 1944 , Sheriff Patterson was called at home at 4:00 am and notified that Hite's Service Station on Route 71 at Jasper had just been robbed. The sheriff and his 18 year-old son immediately got dressed and responded to the area. The two parked their vehicle along the roadway and waited for the suspect vehicle to pass. When they saw the vehicle they immediately overtook it on US 160 west of Lamar and waved it over. After speaking with the three occupants the sheriff took one of the men's wallets and told them to turn around and drive back towards town as he followed. The suspect vehicle drove a short distance before pulling over . Two of the occupants approached the sheriff's car and pulled out their .32 caliber pistols and told the sheriff to give them his gun. The sheriff immediately drew his weapon and fired a shot. The two men returned fire, fatally shooting the sheriff, striking him three times. One of the suspects then shot the sheriff's son in the head, killing him.

All three suspects, George S. Houston, 38, his brother Ernest G. Houston, 26, and brother-in-law, Victor Monroe Rush, all of Kansas City, fled the scene and remained at large for almost one year. They were eventually apprehended, confessed to the murders, and sentenced to life in prison.

Sheriff Patterson was survived by his wife, Hazel, and six children. His seventh child, Sam, 18, was murdered along with him. He was a veteran of WWI. Interred: Lake Cemetery, Lamar, MO.