Charles Franklin Headley
Agency patch
Supervising Game Warden

Charles Franklin Headley

Accident
End of Watch February 8, 1924
Age 49
Tour of Duty 2 yrs
The Vigil Panel 46 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Supervising Game Warden Charles Headley drowned after being knocked into a millrace along the North Fork Shenandoah River near Woodstock, Virginia.

He had just completed an inspection of a fish ladder at Stonewall Mill near the confluence of the river and Pughs Run. He was attempting to crank his automobile when it lurched forward. He was knocked over the bank into the millrace and the vehicle plunged into the water on top of him. He was trapped underneath the car and drowned.

A child who witnessed the incident ran to the mill and told employees who retrieved his body.

Warden Headley had been appointed as the Supervising Game Warden of the Seventh District two years earlier.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and two children.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-VA-11678641
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

I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Supervising Game Warden Headley gave the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources 2 years.
Thank you for your service to the Henrico community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Supervising Game Warden Headley.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location Henrico, VA
Platform Identity vdwrcons.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 8, 1924
Tour of Duty 2 yrs
Age 49
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Supervising Game Warden Charles Franklin Headley 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 VA, 203 of 654 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31% of this state's fallen.

At Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, 4 of 11 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 36.4% of this agency's fallen.

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
4
of 11 officers
36.4% Accident
VA — Statewide
203
of 654 officers
31% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Charles Franklin Headley's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Charles Franklin Headley Compares

Age at End of Watch
49
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
2
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Charles Franklin Headley is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location