On June 18, 1998, Eagle Lake, Texas police officer Tobin Craig Thomas, 31, was fatally shot while investigating the scene of another homicide. Thomas was wearing a bulletproof vest that stopped several pellets, but two pellets passed between his vest and belt, striking his spine and an artery and causing fatal internal bleeding. Despite his wounds he was able to return fire and kill the shooter.

The shooter was identified as 64-year-old Woodrow Wilson Jr., who had been hiding in tall weeds near the initial crime scene. Investigators determined Wilson had already shot and killed his girlfriend, 27-year-old Betty Lou Holloway, with a handgun before ambushing Officer Thomas. Officer Thomas had served with the Eagle Lake Police Department for about two years and was survived by his wife, daughter, parents, brother and sister.

The case was closed after Wilson’s death. Does anyone have memories of Officer Thomas or information about the events that evening?