Richard Dean Bird, a 45-year-old convicted felon from Stone County, Missouri, fatally shot two Christian County sheriff’s deputies on February 23, 2026, in a shooting that began with a traffic stop near Highlandville and ended nine hours later with Bird killed by law enforcement in the woods of Stone County. He had been released on bond for property crimes just days earlier, and his record included a 2014 Kansas conviction for firing on a sheriff’s deputy. The Missouri deputies shooting involving Richard Bird left Deputies Gabriel Ramirez and Michael Hislope dead and two other officers wounded.
How the Shooting Unfolded
Deputy Gabriel Ramirez pulled Bird over on the afternoon of Monday, February 23, 2026, near State Highway 160 and Route HH, south of Highlandville. According to Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole, Ramirez stopped Bird for allegedly running a school bus stop arm while children were being let off.1SGF Citizen. Deputy Ramirez Traffic Stop School Bus Bird opened fire almost immediately. When other deputies arrived around 4:05 p.m., they found Ramirez fatally shot in the roadway.2Ozarks First. Sheriff Brad Cole Remarks
Bird fled in his vehicle. The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued a Blue Alert at about 4:00 p.m.,3KMBC. Man Who Shot Missouri Deputy Dies in Shootout and more than 150 officers from local, state, and federal agencies joined the search, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, and the ATF. Officers found Bird’s abandoned truck along Highway 160 near Reeds Spring and worked the surrounding woods with forward-looking infrared and drones.4KY3. Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole Shares Details of Deputies’ Deadly Encounter With Richard Bird
Around 11:30 p.m., a Highway Patrol helicopter picked up a moving heat signature near the 2500 block of Highway 248 in Stone County. Officers located Bird by a tree and tried to communicate with him. Sheriff Cole said Bird’s only response was gunfire.2Ozarks First. Sheriff Brad Cole Remarks The gun battle lasted roughly 30 minutes.4KY3. Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole Shares Details of Deputies’ Deadly Encounter With Richard Bird Bird shot and wounded Christian County Deputy Josh Wahl and Webster County Deputy Austin McCall. Deputy Michael Hislope was killed trying to reach the two wounded officers.5First Alert 4. Christian County Sheriff’s Office Mourns Loss of Two Deputies Killed in Line of Duty Law enforcement eventually used an armored vehicle to approach Bird’s position and shot him dead.3KMBC. Man Who Shot Missouri Deputy Dies in Shootout
Wahl was hit in the upper leg, underwent major reconstructive surgery, and was released from Cox South Hospital on February 27.6SGF Citizen. Deputy Joshua Wahl Released From Hospital McCall was hit four times. Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole said his condition was non-critical and that a follow-up surgery went well.7KY3. Christian County, Webster County Deputies Recovering After Shootout Near Reeds Spring
The Deputies Who Were Killed
Gabriel Ramirez was 30. An Ozark Schools graduate, he served nearly eight years in the U.S. Army, enlisting in November 2016 and separating as a Staff Sergeant in July 2024.8Missouri Memorial. Deputy Gabriel Ramirez He joined the Christian County Sheriff’s Office in March 2025 and had been on the job about 11 months.9KSMU. Two Christian County Deputies Are Killed in the Line of Duty He left behind a wife and two sons.
Michael Hislope was 40, also an Ozark Schools graduate and a U.S. Army veteran. He had served with the Christian County Sheriff’s Office since October 2019, more than six years with the agency.9KSMU. Two Christian County Deputies Are Killed in the Line of Duty He is survived by his wife, daughter, son, parents, two brothers, and three sisters.10ODMP. Deputy Sheriff Michael Hislope Sheriff Cole called the two men “brothers, two husbands, two fathers, two heroes, who were the very best of us.” Thousands attended a joint funeral at James River Church in Ozark on February 28.11SGF Citizen. Christian County Deputies Funeral
Who Richard Bird Was
Bird’s record stretched back more than two decades. He was convicted of second-degree burglary in Cass County, Missouri, in 2003, and of first-degree felony tampering with a motor vehicle in 2022. Court records classified him as a “prior and persistent offender,” with numerous misdemeanor charges along the way.12SGF Citizen. Richard Dean Bird Shooting Deputies
His most serious prior offense came in September 2014 in Johnson County, Kansas, when he was caught stealing from a construction site and fired on a responding sheriff’s deputy. In April 2016 he pleaded guilty to aggravated battery, fleeing law enforcement, criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle, obstructing legal process, and possession of narcotics. A judge sentenced him to more than seven years in prison.13KSHB. Suspect Who Killed Two Missouri Deputies Served Time for Firing Shots Toward Johnson County Deputy Kansas Department of Corrections records show his discharge date as April 2023.14KY3. Suspect in Christian County Deputy Killings Had Prior Conviction for Shooting at Kansas Deputy
In the weeks before the shooting, Bird was arrested twice in Stone County. On February 16, 2026, he was suspected of burglarizing a residence and stealing a safe containing a coin collection worth about $2,000, and of tampering with physical evidence. On February 18, he was charged with receiving stolen property and possession of methamphetamine after deputies found a stolen utility task vehicle and other stolen items at his home.12SGF Citizen. Richard Dean Bird Shooting Deputies Both times his bond was set at $50,000, and both times he posted it through a bondsman. A new arrest warrant tied to the burglary and stolen safe was issued on February 21, two days before the shootings. His bond conditions explicitly prohibited him from possessing firearms or committing new offenses.15Police1. Suspect Who Fatally Shot Two Missouri Deputies Was Released on Bond Five Days Prior
Why Bird Was Free on Bond
Public anger after the shootings focused on Stone County Judge Eric Chavez, who set the $50,000 bond. Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader publicly defended Chavez, calling the figure a “very high bond” for property crimes that in other jurisdictions might draw $5,000 to $10,000 or “book and release.”16SGF Citizen. Judge Criticized Over Bird Bond
Rader pointed to the Missouri Supreme Court’s 2019 bail guidelines, which direct judges to impose the least restrictive conditions for pretrial release and set monetary bail “only if necessary and not higher than required” to protect public safety and ensure court appearances. Criminal defense attorney Adam Woody said the $50,000 figure was the maximum allowed under Missouri law for the charges and that judges were legally required to set a bond rather than hold Bird without one, regardless of his violent history.17KY3. Stone County Sheriff Defends Bond Decisions After Deputies Killed in Shootout
The Push for Bond Reform
Patricia “Val” Drinkall, a probation officer and friend of the slain deputies, started a petition calling for Missouri to deny bond to violent repeat offenders and keep them incarcerated until their new charges are resolved. By mid-March 2026, it had drawn more than 7,300 signatures. State Rep. Jamie Gragg said, “Unfortunately, it takes something like this to make that reform.” Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway called the incident a “failure of a system” and argued that dangerous repeat offenders should not be freed after serving a small percentage of their sentences.18Police1. After Missouri Deputies Killed, Friends’ Grief Turns to Action in Push for Bond Reform
The Sheriff’s Critical Incident Team, led by Greene County Captain Marc Staeger, is handling the investigation. Staeger said findings will be shared with Sheriff Cole and released publicly as the case develops.19Yahoo News. Greene County Captain Takes Over Investigation