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Captain

Frank Jones

Texas Rangers — Austin, TX

Felonious

End of Watch June 30, 1893

Age 37

Tour of Duty 19 yrs

The Vigil Panel 12 ›

Gender Male

Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Memorials 1 Department 121

Incident

Texas Ranger Captain Frank Jones was shot and killed while attempting to arrest suspected cattle rustlers. Captain Jones, along with five other Rangers and an El Paso County Deputy Sheriff, obtained a warrant for the arrest of a man and his son, who were part of the Olguin Clan. The Olguin clan members were known outlaws and lived in no man's land on Pirate Island, situated in the middle of the Rio Grande River between Texas and Mexico across from El Paso County. While Mexico claimed jurisdiction over the disputed island, parts of the island were in Texas. The Texas Rangers would later claim they did not realize they were in Mexico until after the gun battle. The lawmen saw two Mexican riders flee, dismount, and enter some adobe building in the Town of Tres Jacales, Mexico. As Captain Jones and his men approached, gunfire erupted from inside the buildings and the surrounding brush. Jones was wounded in the thigh and fell from his horse. He straightened his leg out and continued firing. One of the privates came to his assistance, but Jones told the other men to save themselves. Seconds later, he was riddled with bullets and died. The vastly outnumbered lawmen returned to Texas to summon assistance. The El Paso County Sheriff went to Juarez, Mexico, to request the return of Captain Jones' body. Mexican authorities filed a diplomatic protest but returned his body days later. The Olguins were reportedly wounded and arrested by Mexican authorities, but they were never prosecuted. Captain Jones had sent a letter to Ranger officials 6 weeks earlier requesting additional men due to a large number of bandits in the area. He was buried on his father-in-law's ranch. In 1936, he was reburied in Ysleta, El Paso County, and a state marker was erected.

Survivors

He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

In Our Keeping

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Last updated: August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

133 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Captain Jones gave the Texas Rangers 19 years.
Thank you for your service to the Austin community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

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

Agency

Department Texas Rangers

Type Other

Location Austin, Travis County, TX

Platform Identity tr.travis.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 30, 1893

Tour of Duty 19 yrs

Age 37

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Weapon Gun

The Sacrifice · Felonious

Frank is one of 15,743 officers killed feloniously in the United States, 57.1% of the 27,551 remembered there.

33,917 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

Compare against

Time

In 1893, 76 officers in the United States were killed feloniously, the 92nd heaviest of 213 years on record. The heaviest was 1921, with 248.

Every year on record · United States

Who

Frank was 37. Of the 14,220 killed feloniously in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 31 and 47; the middle age was 38. Frank had served 19 years; the middle length of service was 6 years.

Age at death

Where he stood among them

Age by years of service

III

When

June holds 8.1% of these deaths in the United States; December holds the most, 9.4%. Fridays: 14.3%.

By month

By day of the week

How

Felonious deaths account for 57.1% of all 27,551 deaths in the United States, the most common cause. The weapon recorded was gun, in 22.8% of these deaths.

Every cause

Weapons recorded