WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — Dozens of people gathered along a procession route in Boone Friday to pay tribute to two deputies who made the ultimate sacrifice for their community.
Sgt. Chris Ward and K-9 Deputy Logan Fox were shot and killed by 32-year-old Isaac Barnes during a welfare check Wednesday at a home on Hardaman Circle, according to Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman.
The sheriff said the men were called to the home after Barnes’ stepfather didn’t show up for work. When the deputies went inside the home, they were met with gunfire. They did not survive.
8-year veteran Ward died at a hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee, where he was taken after being removed from the house.
The 36-year-old married his high school sweetheart and is a father of two, ages 19 and 5. He began his career at the Beech Mountain Police Department in 2013, later moving on to the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office where he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
Two-year veteran Fox remained in the home throughout the ensuing standoff and died at the scene.
The 25-year-old was engaged to be married. He worked as a K-9 officer who handled Watauga County Sheriff’s Office K-9 “Raven” who he cared for deeply.
From Winston Salem to Boone, dozens of community members and law enforcement agencies lined the streets to pay their respects to the deputies.
They stood by as dozens of emergency vehicles escorted a hearse and SUV carrying the bodies of Ward and Fox to Austin and Barnes Funeral Home. Many saluted as the line of vehicles passed.
Channel 9′s Ken Lemon was at the procession and said the occasional siren was the only noticeable sound in the town for about 20 minutes.
Lemon spoke with Morgan Hartley who said she knows Ward’s daughter.
“I grew up with Molly. I can’t image what she is going through,” she said.
She was there as one of the hearses passed.
“Your heart drops and you don’t know how to feel,” she said.
You could see the same impact on the faces of many of the people who gathered to honor the deputies. Among them was John Young who said he knew Fox well.
Young said he and his family drove four hours from Virginia to sit with Fox’s sister at the procession. She watched quietly in the crowd saluting her hero and brother.
One woman told Channel 9 that neighbors always call the area the “Boone Bubble” because nothing bad happens there. She said it feels like it popped.
Some community members told Lemon they knew the shooter who turned the gun on himself, his parents and the officers, so i’s almost like a broken heart in multiple places.
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