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Incident
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife - Warden Service, ME
Game Warden Mertley Johnston and Game Warden David Brown were shot and killed while investigating illegal hunting of beavers near the Big Bog Dam on the North Branch of the Penobscot River.
After shooting both wardens, the suspect placed their bodies under the ice. Their bodies weren't located until May 22, 1923, by another game warden.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
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- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Game Warden Johnston served with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
Thank you for your service to the Augusta community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Game Warden Johnston.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
The Sacrifice · Felonious
Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife - Warden Service has lost 16 officers; 6 of them killed feloniously.
Mertley is one of 17,631 officers killed feloniously worldwide, 51.7% of the 34,117 remembered here.
34,117 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.
Time
In 1922, 2 officers at Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife - Warden Service were killed feloniously, more than in any other year.
In 1922, 306 officers worldwide were killed feloniously, the 3rd heaviest of 265 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 516.
When
November holds 66.7% of these deaths at Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife - Warden Service, more than any other month. Tuesdays: 50%.
November holds 8.2% of these deaths worldwide; December holds the most, 9.2%. Tuesdays: 13.3%.
How
Felonious deaths account for 37.5% of all 16 deaths at Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife - Warden Service, the 2nd most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun, in 33.3% of these deaths.
Felonious deaths account for 51.7% of all 34,117 deaths worldwide, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun, in 20.4% of these deaths.
His people
Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife - Warden Service has 16 officers remembered here, Mertley among them.
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Lyman O. Hill
Nov 8, 1886
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Charles W. Niles
Nov 8, 1886
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Arthur G. Deag
Jul 19, 1921
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Leslie Robinson Oct 8, 1921
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David F. Brown
Nov 14, 1922
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Mertley E. Johnston
Nov 14, 1922
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Lee H. Parker
Sep 1, 1927
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Ralph Stanley Cushman
Feb 26, 1931
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Jean Baptiste Jalbert
May 13, 1933
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Robert Lee Moore
Oct 22, 1935
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Randall E. Shelley
Jun 3, 1946
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George E. Townsend
Aug 27, 1956
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R. Lyle Frost, Jr.
Jul 1, 1968
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Richard E. Varney
Sep 27, 1972
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William F. Hanrahan
Nov 21, 1992
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Daryl Ray Gordon
Mar 25, 2011
Where
Where the Name Is Cut
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial · Panel 54-W
What is kept
Photographs, film, sound and papers — what survived a life.
Others Who Wore This Badge
15 officers from Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife - Warden Service are honored on badge.nw.
