Sheriff John Kearbey was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a wanted criminal.

Sheriff Kearbey received a tip that a man wanted for the murder of a Poplar Bluff boy was at the railyards. Sheriff Kearbey along with Constable Hubert Powell came upon the suspect in the vicinity of Pine Creek just beyond Vinegar Hill. The suspect was acting suspiciously lying alongside a fence at about 3:00 pm on Friday, May 14th. The suspect opened fire as Sheriff Kearbey approached him, and both law officers returned fire. Sheriff Kearbey was shot in the breast bone that carried with the bullet continuing through to the liver and lodged below the right hip. He was taken to a doctor but died three days later on Monday, May 17th at 2:45 am.

The suspect, William Wilson, was also killed during the battle. Wilson was found to be in possession of three guns and 100 rounds of ammunition in his possession. Wilson had been convicted for the murder of a special agent of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad but escaped from jail three weeks prior to his execution.

Sheriff Kearbey was elected sheriff in 1912. He was survived by his wife, Etta Edith, and two children, Nora Vergal and John Phillip Jr. Interred: Poplar Bluff Cemetery, Poplar Bluff, MO.