Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe is among the individuals and organizations issuing messages of condolences after two Christian County Deputies were shot in the line of duty on Monday.

Kehoe issued a statement on social media Tuesday morning on behalf of him and his wife saying, "Claudia and I are keeping the families of both deputies who were killed, those officers injured, and the entire Southwest Missouri law enforcement community in our prayers."

In another segment of the statement, Kehoe said, " I am grateful for the collaboration between local law enforcement officers, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and federal partners in taking down the perpetrator. This terrible tragedy is yet another solemn reminder of the sacrifices law enforcement officers make to keep our communities safe."

Kehoe was among the many individuals that attended the press conference discussing the incidents Tuesday afternoon. During the press conference at the Christian County Courthouse in Ozark, Sheriff Brad Cole went over the time line of the incidents, starting with the traffic stop around 4:00 in Highlandville that led to the death of Deputy Gabriel Ramirez had pulled over a pick-up driven by Richard Dean Bird. Cole said Ramirez was not able relay the reason for the traffic stop before he was killed. Deputies discovered Ramirez's body on the roadway shortly after 4:00.

Gabriel Ramirez

Cole said Bird was quickly identified as the suspect and law enforcement did converge on his last know residence off of Highway Y south of Reeds Spring. While he was not located there, his vehicle was eventually located near the intersection of Highway 160/13/248 at the roundabout at Reeds Spring Jct. 

Cole continued that with the help of helicopter support from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, they located the area where Dean was hiding. Just before midnight, Dean began opening fire on approaching law enforcement injuring two officers. According to Cole, Christian County Deputy Michael Hislope was killed as officers tried to get to the deputies that had been struck. The two deputies that were struck, identified as Josh Wall from Christian County and the other Austin McCall from Webster County, are expected to recover.   

Michael Hislope

Cole added that around 150 officers were involved in the manhunt. In addition to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Christian and Stone County Sheriff's Offices, other officers involved included the Greene and Taney County Sheriff Departments, the Nixa, Ozark, and Reeds Spring Police Departments along with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Park Ranger Service. Federal agents from the ATF, FBI, and the U.S. Marshall Service were also a part of the response. 

Cole said that his department will get assistance from the Ozark Police Department on answering service calls over the next few days as they 

According to court documents, Bird, whose most recent address had been in Galena, has a past criminal history and over the weekend, a warrant had been issued over the weekend in relation to a burglary that had occurred on February 15. Court documents indicate that he had been out on a $50,000 bond for one of the earlier crimes.  

(Information from the Christian County Sheriff's Department Press Conference from a feed provided by Ozarks First)