Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever was driving along a gravel road near Williams on September 18 to meet family members for a camping and hunting trip when his pickup rolled. A new report was legally intoxicated with a blood-alcohol content of .29 at the time of his death.
Dever served four terms as sheriff and was running for his fifth unopposed. The Cochise County Republican Party leadership met on Thursday to fill the vacancy on the November ballot left by the untimely death. The leadership chose a retired commander Mark Dannels.
Dannels worked under Dever before retiring after 29 years with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department.
The Cochise County Board of Supervisors named Chief Deputy Rodney Rothrock as interim Sheriff.
Dever grew to be a national figure for his calm but strong demeanor during the heated national debate over border security. His friend, rancher Rob Krentz, was killed by what many believe were drug smugglers. At the time of Krentz’s death, Dever became a symbol of border county law enforcement officers and their nearly impossible jobs due to the federal government’s failure to secure the border.