A Buena Vista County lawman killed more than a century ago is finally getting national recognition this week.
Sheriff Kory Elston told the Buena Vista County Board of Supervisors yesterday that Albert City Marshal Charles Lodine, who died in the line of duty in 1901, will be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Elston said the discovery came last fall, when a representative from the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund reached out after uncovering Lodine’s story.
Elston said Deputy Jake Nelson completed the required documentation, clearing the way for Lodine’s name to be formally added during a ceremony in Washington today as part of National Police Week.
The sheriff also outlined the dramatic circumstances surrounding Lodine’s death. In November 1901, Lodine and a posse confronted three bank robbers at the Albert City depot after a robbery in Greenville. A shootout followed. One robber was killed, two were captured and Lodine was mortally wounded.
Another Albert City resident, John Sundblad, who joined the posse, was also killed during the confrontation.
Elston told supervisors that Lodine remains the only Buena Vista County law enforcement officer known to have been killed in the line of duty.
