Incident
Undersheriff George Burnau suffered a fatal heart attack while involved in a foot pursuit of a mental subject.
He and the sheriff located the man seated in a wagon on the Oskaloosa Williamstown Road, but the man fled on foot as they approached. Undersheriff Burnau ran into a wooded area as he tried to flank the subject. He collapsed in the woods and his body was not until several hours later.
Condolences to his loved ones
Carson loveless April 29th, 2024
In Our Keeping
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BO-US-KS-10D1A8A1- Stewardship
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- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Undersheriff Burnau served with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Oskaloosa community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Undersheriff Burnau.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Undersheriff George Burnau is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In KS, 15 of 335 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 4.5% of this state's fallen. That is 0.5 percentage points above the national rate of 4%.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. George Burnau's cause is highlighted.
How George Burnau Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. George Burnau is highlighted in Apr.