Hero Down: Benton County Sheriff’s Cpl. David Jones Dies Unexpectedly In Walmart Parking Lot

Warsaw, MO – Benton County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) Corporal David “Dave” Jones died unexpectedly on April 28 while running errands, according to his department.

The 65-year-old off-duty corporal left his home that evening to go to his nearby Walmart store, but still hadn’t returned more than 90 minutes later, the BCSO said in a press release.

Cpl. Jones’ concerned wife went looking for him and found his vehicle parked in the Walmart parking lot shortly after 8 p.m.

He was inside the car, but he was unresponsive.

“He never made it into the store,” the BCSO said. “No foul play was involved, his passing was of natural causes.”

Cpl. Jones, who would have celebrated his 66th birthday in May, devoted more than 40 years of his life to his law enforcement career.

Cpl. Jones became a police officer in 1977, when he joined the Warsaw Police Department (WPD), according to his obituary.

He moved up the ranks in the years that followed, and spent 17 years serving as the agency’s police chief, the BCSO said.

Cpl. Jones retired from the WPD in 2017.

“That retirement lasted four days,” his obituary read.

Cpl. Jones then joined the BCSO, and later simultaneously served the WPD as a reserve officer.

“David was a God-fearing man who never met a stranger and had the love and light inside of him to find light through any storm,” the tribute read. “He mentored troubled teens, pillow fought mouthy toddlers and reasoned with, instead of punishing unreasonable adults. He was a protector. He took the meaning of that word and used it to its fullest whether at work or at home.”

The BCSO said Cpl. Jones loved his work, his community, his family, and his fellow officers.

“Law enforcement was his life, he will be missed beyond words,” the sheriff’s office said.

Cpl. Jones leaves behind his wife, Josie, two daughters, three bonus children, 17 grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and his sister, according to his obituary.

He will be laid to rest on May 4.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Benton County Sheriff’s Office Corporal David “Dave” Jones, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.

Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.