Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff Charles McCarthy and Deputy U.S. Marshal Clinton Miller drowned in the Missouri River after falling through the ice.
The two were traveling up the river to serve subpoenas for an inquest case. The witness appeared for the inquest on Monday but neither officer showed up. A search party was sent out the following day and located a spot in the river where their sleigh drove onto the ice and then fell through. Both officers, their horse, and the sleigh were swept away below the ice.
Sheriff McCarthy had served with the Burleigh County Sheriff's Office for a few months.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-ND-E296BF2D- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
152 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Sheriff McCarthy gave the Burleigh County Sheriff's Office 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Bismarck community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff Charles H. McCarthy is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In ND, 15 of 61 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 24.6% of this state's fallen. That is 6.4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Burleigh County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Charles H. McCarthy's cause is highlighted.
How Charles H. McCarthy Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Charles H. McCarthy is highlighted in Dec.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
2 officers from Burleigh County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
