I was taken aback this week wandering through old newspapers when I found a Parksley Police Department chief was killed in the line of duty 50 years ago.
I’d heard of the Cape Charles town sergeant who was fatally shot Nov. 29, 1918. But I had never heard of the Line of Duty Death of Parksley Police Chief Thomas Young.
On Sept. 14, 1970, Young was traveling on Route 316 toward Parksley when a 15-year-old headed east missed a stop sign at the massive Byrd Packing Co. and hit Young’s car, which rolled several times afterward. The story above was reported by The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md.
I looked a bit for Chief Young’s obituary and gravesite, but found neither.
However, I did find him on the Officer Down Memorial Page, at at odmp.org.
It reported Young was 61 at the time of his heath and was survived by his sister, two brothers and two nephews.
Young and Cape Charles Town Sgt. James A. Taylor are the only Eastern Shore Line of Duty Death officers in the national database.
We pray there’s never another one.
If someone has information about or a photograph of the fallen Parksley police chief, please let me know. Email me at ted@easternshorefirst.com.