DNR remembers deaths of conservation officers Erickson, Skogland

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 26, 2012

Contact: Sgt. Pete Wright, 906-226-1328 or Ed Golder, 517-335-3014


DNR remembers 86^th anniversary of deaths of conservation officers
Arvid Erickson, Emil Skogland

Saturday, Sept. 29, marks the 86th anniversary of the deaths of Michigan conservation officers Arvid Erickson and Emil Skogland, the Department of Natural Resources announced today.

Erickson, 30, and Skogland, 36, were killed Sept, 29, 1926, when they encountered an unlicensed hunter near the Sand Plains area in Marquette County.

During the course of the arrest, the offender pulled a hidden .22 caliber revolver and fatally shot both officers. When the officers failed to return home, a massive search and investigation led to the offender. The suspect eventually confessed to the murders and disclosed the location of the officers’ bodies.

Both CO Erickson’s and CO Skogland’s weighted-down bodies were recovered from Lake Superior near Marquette. The offender, who had recently been paroled from prison for another murder, was convicted of first-degree murder for the officers’ deaths.

“Conservation Officer Arvid Erickson and Conservation Officer Emil Skogland were killed in what might be called a routine license check,” said DNR Law Enforcement Division Chief Gary Hagler. “Law enforcement then, as now, has no routine contacts. We will always remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty."

This year marks the 125th anniversary of conservation law enforcement in Michigan. Officers Erickson and Skogland are two of the 12 fallen conservation officers commemorated by the DNR earlier this year on May 15, when the department dedicated a memorial to conservation officers who have died while protecting this state's natural resources and the citizens who enjoy them.

Anyone seeking more information or who wishes to contribute to the construction of the memorial can get details at www.mcoa-online.net.