Sheriff Louis Kreilein was killed in an accident that occurred during construction of a new county jail and sheriff's residence.

   As the old jail was being demolished, a four-by-six-foot rafter was thrown from the second-story roof and struck Sheriff Kreilein who was standing on the ground below.

   He was taken to Dubois County Memorial Hospital in Jasper where he died of a skull fracture shortly after noon.

   Sheriff Kreilein, a Democrat from Jasper, was in the fourth year of his four-year term in office and had previously served as the chief of police with the Jasper Police Department. He was survived by his wife, son, daughter, mother, five brothers and a sister.

   His wife, Clara Kreilein (1908–1999), was appointed sheriff to serve the remainder of her husband's term, becoming the first female sheriff of Dubois County before being elected to serve a full four-year term herself.

Historical Notes • Sheriff Kreilein is the third-oldest of the 21 sheriffs with line of duty deaths in Indiana. • He was the first fallen sheriff to be elected to a four-year term.

Read more on our research at Honoring Our Fallen Sheriffs.