# DNR commemorates conservation officer Theron Craw



## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

Nov. 5, 2012

The Department of Natural Resources today remembered Michigan conservation officer Theron A. Craw on the 84th anniversary of his death in the line of duty.

On Oct. 31, 1928, Craw and his partner were working along Acme Creek in Grand Traverse County. The two officers were assigned to work trappers and protect recently stocked fish from merganser ducks.

During the course of their duties, Craw was accidently shot by his partner and sustained a shotgun wound to his back and injuries to his internal organs. The officer succumbed to these injuries on Nov. 5, 1928.

Theron was the son of Michigan conservation officer and district law supervisor Mark A. Craw and his wife, Clara. After serving as an infantryman in WWI, Theron Craw was hired as a Michigan conservation officer on Jan. 2, 1928.

"Conservation officer Theron Craw died protecting the natural resources of this state," said DNR Law Enforcement Division Chief Gary Hagler. "His service in the infantry in World War I would have placed him in harm's way. Danger is inherent in conservation law enforcement, also. This hero's life cut short reflects that danger. 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. Craw is one of 12 fallen conservation officers commemorated by the DNR earlier this year on May 15, when the department dedicated the site for a memorial to conservation officers who have died while protecting this state's natural resources and the citizens who enjoy them.











More...


----------

