Tombstone Extras

In 1994, I found a book at the Salt Lake County Library entitled " The Search for Lopez - Utah's Greatest Manhunt " by Lynn Bailey. The book was originally published in 1990 and it chronicled the events of a six count homicide case that occurred in Salt Lake & Utah Counties during November 1913. Being a fairly recent transplant from California and unfamiliar with this incident, I looked into the matter further and found an article written about the case in the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office Commemorative Album.

In 1998 I purchased a paperback book entitled " Manhunter - The Life and Times of Frank Hamer " by Gene Shelton. This book was published in 1997 and it is a novel based upon the life of Texas Ranger Captain Frank A. Hamer. Chapter fourteen of this book is entitled " Del Rio - September 1921 ". This chapter covers the shooting of a Ralph ( a.k.a. "Red" ) Lopez by Captain Frank A. Hamer of Company " C " - Texas Rangers. The chapter also details the crimes Lopez committed while in Utah, after he left Utah and how he was killed with a group of border bandits near Del Rio, Texas in the fall of 1921. In the acknowledgement section of this book, I found that that Shelton had relied heavily upon a previously written biography of Capt. Hamer's life; " I'm Frank Hamer, The Life of a Texas Peace Officer " by John H. Jenkins & H. Gordon Frost.

I began looking for a copy of this biographical book, but I had a difficult time since it had been out of print for many years and the copies that were available were quite expensive. In the fall of 2000, I was finally able to locate and purchase a copy of this book at a reasonable price. Chapter twelve of this book is entitled " I'll kill anyone who tries to catch me ". This chapter details the same information that Shelton used in his book regarding Lopez. In the footnotes section of " I'm Frank Hamer ", I found that the sources of information for this chapter were a 1967 interview with Frank Hamer Jr. and clippings from Hamer family papers.

On March 9, 2001 I had a meeting with my employer, Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard, regarding the two books which listed the possible manner of death regarding Rafael Lopez. I obtained the Sheriff's permission to conduct an investigation into this matter on my own time/expense and to use departmental letterhead in my communiqués.

I immediately began my research by going to the University of Utah and copying the 1913 Salt Lake Daily Tribune & Deseret Evening News newspaper articles related to the Lopez / Bingham Mine shooting incidents. I also went to the Utah State Archives and pulled all related information regarding the Lopez case.

During the first week of the November 2001 Friends of Tombstone gathering, I met Ken Holmes Jr. who was an ex-Marshal from Meridian, Texas and currently living in Dallas, Texas. During our conversation I explained my investigation and that I was having difficulty locating Frank Hamer Jr. to verify his information or even if he was still alive. Ken said that he was friends with Frank's cousin Harrison Hamer and that he would contact Harrison just as soon as he returned to Texas from our gathering in Tombstone. Ken also related that in the late 1970's he had helped to recover some stolen personal photographs & documents which had belonged to Capt. Frank Hamer. After these items were recovered they were taken to the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum in Waco, Texas since it is the repository for the Texas Rangers.

In late November 2001, Ken Holmes put me in touch with Harrison Hamer and I telephoned Harrison to explain my situation. Harrison then put me in touch with Pat McConal, a Texas A & M researcher who was also doing some research into the lives of the the Hamer Brothers ( there were 3 other brothers of Frank Hamer that were also Texas Rangers - although a very private man, Frank just seemed to get the better press at the time ). Pat McConal was able to put me in contact with Texas author Gene Shelton who wrote the book " Manhunter - The Life and Times of Frank Hamer ". Pat McConal said he was having difficulty in attempting to visit and interview Frank Hamer Jr. regarding the Hamer / Lopez shooting.

Since Frank Hamer Jr. was still alive ( 84 yrs old ), could add much information to this case and after months of not finding what I felt would aide in answering my questions regarding the Hamer / Lopez shooting, I decided to go to Texas and conduct my own research.

On October 19 2002, I flew to Austin, Texas and then drove with Harrison Hamer to his ranch in San Saba, Texas. There we mapped out our destinations and routes of travel. The following is a basic itinerary of my travel stops, contacts & actions:

Tues, Oct 22nd Visit Senior Captain C. J. Havrda ( he is in charge of the Texas Rangers ) at Texas Ranger Headquarters in Austin and research documents. Also visit the Texas State Archives in Austin and conduct more document research. Travel from Austin to Waco and spend the night.

Wed, Oct 23rd Visit Deputy Director Christina Stopka at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum in Waco and research documents. Travel from Waco to Longview and spend the night.

Thur, Oct 24th Visit with Gene Shelton, author of " Manhunter " and discuss his research material on Capt. Frank Hamer. Ttravel from Longview to Bryan / College Station and visit with Texas A & M researcher Pat McConal and discuss his material on Capt. Frank Hamer.

From this whirlwind Texas odyssey I obtained copies of valuabledocuments, articles, a photo of the Texas Ranger Company thatparticipated in the 1921 shooting of Rafael Lopez & friends, a taped interview and a signed affidavit by Frank Hamer Jr. regarding the actions of his father, Capt. Frank A. Hamer which resulted in the death of Rafael Lopez. Frank Hamer Jr. not only spoke to his father regarding the shooting of Rafael Lopez, but also Texas Ranger Sgt. Charlie Miller and he handled the bullet punctured pocket watch that was on display for many years at the U.S. Customs House in Laredo, Texas that Lopez was wearing the night he was shot & killed.

I found Frank Hamer Jr. to be a very intelligent and mentally sharp individual, who himself possessed a stellar 34 year Law Enforcement career; first as a Texas Ranger, then as a flying Game Warden for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. At the age of 84, he still hunts and drives to gun shows all over Texas and Oklahoma.

In November 2002, I had a meetings with Salt Lake County Sheriff's Homicide Sergeant Jerry Townsend and Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard regarding my investigational findings. They recommended that my case be submitted for review by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. I submitted the case to the D.A.'s Office in December 2002 and on January 24 2003, Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom issued a memorandum accepting the information that Capt. Frank A. Hamer of Company " C " - Texas Rangers, did shoot and kill Rafael ( "Red" ) Lopez in the fall of 1921 near Del Rio, Texas and that the six count Utah homicide case is now closed.

As a good investigator should always try and do during their research, I attempted many times to disprove my findings and was unable to locate any information that would discredit the sources of my material. On the contrary, many times the needed information and sources of information seemed to go out of it's way to find me as opposed to having to look under every rock in the quarry. I was very, very fortunate to have many people freely provide the necessary information and pieces of the puzzle that were needed to solve this 89 year old mystery and to those folks, I am eternally grateful.........