Chief Deputy Sharon Barnes was shot shortly after noon when she and the sheriff went to a home on County Road 231, west of Salem, to investigate a double murder that occurred earlier in the morning.

The suspect's girlfriend opened the door as the deputies approached the house. When Chief Deputy Barnes asked if the suspect was there, the man opened fire with a .22 caliber handgun and struck Chief Deputy Barnes in the head and torso. She was flown to St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis where she succumbed to her wounds at 3:51am the next morning. The sheriff, the suspect, and another person in the house were also wounded in the ensuing shootout.

The suspect was convicted of three counts of first degree murder and armed criminal action. He was sentenced to three death sentences.

Chief Deputy barnes had been employed with the Dent County Sheriff's Department for nine years. Interred: Concord Cemetery, Texas CO, MO.