Larry Boles

Larry E. Boles was a dedicated law enforcement officer who had served his community for several years. Before joining the Union Pacific Railroad Police as a Special Agent, the 28-year-old, male officer had spent three and a half years as an Adams County Deputy Sheriff, where he was a member of the dive team. In 1976, he began a new chapter with the railroad, taking on the responsibility of protecting its vast yards in Denver, Colorado. He had been married to his wife, Tamera, for less than a year, and they were expecting their first child. Colleagues and memorial pages remember him as a committed professional dedicated to public safety.

The night of Saturday, July 9, 1977, was his end of watch. While conducting a routine patrol of the Union Pacific rail yards near 46th Avenue and Race Street in downtown Denver, Special Agent Boles discovered a burglary in progress at a boxcar. He successfully apprehended one of the suspects and, following protocol, radioed the Denver Police Department for backup, reporting that he was holding a suspect. It was the last communication anyone would receive from him. Before assistance could arrive, a second assailant ambushed him.

When Denver police officers got to the scene, they found a horrific sight. Special Agent Boles was dead, the victim of an exceptionally violent attack. An investigation would reveal that he had been shot five times and brutally beaten with a 2x4 board. The suspect he had captured was gone, and the person or persons responsible for his murder had vanished into the sprawling, industrial darkness of the rail yard. The attack was sudden, vicious, and left a young family without a husband and father.

The investigation into the murder of Special Agent Boles was launched immediately by the Denver Police Department. The case, logged as #7700-380762, was a priority, but the initial search for the killer proved fruitless. The second suspect, who had approached from behind and opened fire, was never identified. Despite the initial capture of one burglar at the scene, the person or persons who committed the murder managed to elude one of the most intensive manhunts in the city's recent history. The trail went cold, and no arrests were ever made.

In the years and decades that followed, the memory of Larry Boles has been kept alive by law enforcement memorials and cold case files. He is survived by his wife and a daughter he never had the chance to meet, who was born after his death. His name is listed among Colorado's fallen heroes, a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice he made while protecting the community. His service with both the Adams County Sheriff's Office and the Union Pacific Railroad Police is remembered by those who honor officers killed in the line of duty.

The murder of Special Agent Larry E. Boles remains an open and unsolved case with the Denver Police Department. The killer who ambushed him in the rail yard on that summer night in 1977 has never been brought to justice. The case is a permanent part of Colorado's cold case files, a somber entry that speaks to a violent act and a family's unending loss. Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact the Denver Police Department.