Roll of Honor
Valentine Hoy
Incident
Deputized Civilian Val Hoy was shot and killed while riding with a posse attempting to arrest a man wanted for cattle rustling and the shooting of a teenage boy on a ranch near Rock Springs, Wyoming, just north of the Colorado border.
The Routt County sheriff deputized Mr. Hoy and other citizens after it was learned that the suspect had fled into Colorado. They located the man, and two escapees from the Utah State Penitentiary, at Lodore Canyon on the Green River. As the posse approached, the men fled on foot up to high ground on the rimrock shelf, leaving their horses and provisions behind. The posse seized the horses and provisions and returned to town for the night.
The following day they returned to the area and began searching for the subjects, who had gone even higher up the mountain on a steep, narrow trail. As Deputy Hoy attempted to walk through a narrow fissure he was shot in the chest by one of the men. The three subjects were captured by the posse four days later and hanged.
Deputy Hoy was a Union Army veteran of the Civil War.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-CO-EA7C00C6- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Also honored at salute.nw — U.S. Army. One record, 2 gates. Valentine is one person.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Deputized Civilian Hoy served with the Routt County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Steamboat Springs community. Thank you for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Valentine Hoy served in the U.S. Army before joining law enforcement.
Deputized Civilian Valentine Hoy is one of 1 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In CO, 235 of 360 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 65.3% of this state's fallen. That is 65.3 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
At Routt County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 2 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 50% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Valentine Hoy's cause is highlighted.
How Valentine Hoy Compares
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Valentine Hoy is highlighted in Mar.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths.
Incident Location
Military Service
Valentine Hoy served in the U.S. Army before joining law enforcement.
Visit Valentine Hoy’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
1 officer from Routt County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
