Special Agents Earl Raymond Harrouff and Gus Gehlbach had completed a National Firearms Act investigation and were returning to Kansas City, Missouri. As they drove along US Route 69 about 2 1/2 miles south of Cameron, Missouri, their vehicle was passing a tractor-trailer truck when an oncoming vehicle forced them to cut back sharply in front of the truck. Their car clipped the truck and overturned. Agent Harrouff was thrown from the car and died enroute to the local hospital. Agent Gehlbach suffered severe injuries, but survived.

Agent Harrouff joined the Prohibition Unit on October 28, 1922, serving as a junior chemist at the Little Rock, Arkansas laboratory. He became a special agent in September 1935 and served in offices at St. Louis and Kansas City. He carried badge #340. Previously, he was a veteran of the U.S. Army and served from 1917-1918 in a chemical warfare unit serving in WW I and WW II.

Agent Harrouff was born in Coats, Kansas. He was survived by his wife, Louise and stepdaughter. Interred: Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, Fort Leavenworth, KS.