Wahkiakum County Sheriff Jon Dearmore died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at about 5 p.m. Tuesday at his home in Grays River, according to Marsha LaFarge, clerk of the Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners.
"It's a shock to all of us," she said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sheriff Dearmore's family and loved ones."
Dearmore, 50, was married and had a daughter.
Dearmore spent nearly 25 years in law enforcement, including 18 years with the agency. He had been undersheriff at the time he was elected sheriff in 2010.
The Cowlitz County Sheriff's office will handle the death investigation. Wahkiakum County Undersheriff Mark Howie will run the sheriff's office for now.
Additional details about Dearmore's death were unavailable Tuesday night, LaFarge said. County Coroner Dan Bigelow was at the scene Tuesday evening and could not be reached immediately for comment.
"Shock. ... I'm very shocked," said Wahkiakum County Commissioner Dan Cothren. "I really don't have anything to say other than disbelief. I'm trying to absorb what has happened."
For the moment, Cothren said, he and other officials are focused on taking care of Dearmore's friends and family.
"We're trying to comfort the people that need to be comforted," Cothren said. "We're still trying to put together the pieces."
Commissioner Lisa Marsyla said Dearmore was devoted to working with young people and spreading his message of drug and alcohol prevention.
"It's a huge loss for our community. It's just unbelievable. It's just so far reaching," Marsyla said.
Dearmore's influence extended "not just to us in the courthouse, but to all the kids he's reached. He was a pretty remarkable man, and he will be missed," she said.
Rick Nelson, publisher of the Wahkiakum County Eagle newspaper in Cathlamet, said, "it's pretty much a shock to everybody. Nobody saw this one coming."
Nelson said "just about everybody I know really liked and respected Jon. He'll be truly missed."
A sheriff's chaplain is counseling members of the sheriff's department staff, which includes five full-time deputies, a small support staff and a handful of reserves.
Dearmore grew up loving "Gunsmoke" and other TV westerns, and as a kid he imagined himself as a frontier lawman. However, he was a banker earlier in his career.
In a 2010 interview, he said he was pulling a comfortable paycheck as a branch supervisor at a Chelan bank but was terminally restless. At age 26, though recently married, he entered the six-month police reserve academy. After working at the bank all day, he'd bolt to the Chelan Police Station, where he'd hop in a cruiser with the first officer he could find. He enjoyed helping people.
"I got bit by the bug," he said.
Dearmore was a passionate motorcycle enthusiast who enjoyed riding his Police Officer Special Edition Harley-Davidson around the county and on cruises with friends. He also loved riding all-terrain vehicles in the forest, especially during marijuana-eradication missions.
Dearmore described himself as "a true-blue patriot" who held a deep admiration for members of the armed forces.
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