On December 18, 1847 at about 7 or 8:00 pm, Sheriff Enoch Morelock was shot and killed while in court before a justice of the peace involving the court-ordered sale of the suspect's property. Sheriff Morelock succumbed to his injuries the next morning. The accused killer, Patrick McIntire, was charged with 1st Degree Murder but was later acquitted. Within a year of the incident the suspect was found shot to death on the banks of a local river.

At a public meeting of the citizens of Sullivan County chaired by Judge McDowan and Thomas Lane and Dr. J. W. Martin, appointed secretaries, a committee of five was appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting. The resolution supported the actions and service of Sheriff Enoch Morelock and described him as an honest man. The resolution was provided to area newspapers for publication.

The US Attorney of the Western District of Missouri now bestows an Enoch Morelock award for outstanding service in the District. The news release reports that the sheriff was the first recorded loss of a law enforcement officer in the Western District.

Sheriff Morelock had served as sheriff a little more than two years. He was suvived by his wife, Susanah and two children.