CLARK COUNTY, Ohio — Law enforcement escorted the body of Clark County Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Yates from Dayton to Springfield during a procession on Monday.
Sheriff Deb Burchett said the Clark County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call around 10:50 a.m. on Sunday that a woman broke into a home in the Harmony Estates Mobile Home Park and that five to six shots were fired.
Deputy Yates, a 15-year veteran with the department, arrived on scene and investigators say he was shot inside the home.
After an hours-long standoff, investigators say the mobile home caught fire.
Deputies raced in to retrieve Yates who later died at the hospital, the sheriff's office said. He was 41 years old.
On Monday, members of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) used shovels to comb through the debris of the mobile home to find any clue as to what started the fire.
Meanwhile, those who live in the mobile home park say they are shocked by what they saw.
"It's been an emotional roller coaster honestly, " said Karen Adkins, a resident of the mobile home park.
"It's just tragic. I feel for the Clark County Sheriff's Office. That guy didn't deserve that, he was just coming to help and for that to happen it's just heartbreaking," said, Shane Bexfield whose mother lives at the park.
Residents say they had no red flags that would indicate something this violent was about to take place.
In a release, the Fraternal Order of Police/Ohio Labor Council said Yates "selflessly and heroically made the ultimate sacrifice to protect his fellow citizens while responding to a shots fired call."
“We ask that you keep Officer Yates, his family, fellow Deputies and the entire law enforcement community in your thoughts and prayers” said Gwen Callender, Executive Director.
The Clark County coroner's office said Tuesday that the bodies of 27-year-old Cole White and 47-year-old Jodie Arbuckle were recovered from the remains of the mobile home.
Deputy Yates' death marks the fourth person to die in the line of duty at the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
The last happened in 2011, also at a mobile home park. The death of Clark County deputy Suzanne Hopper, led to the creation of the Suzanne Hopper Act. It was intended to create a database usable by law enforcement to track violent offenders ruled as mentally ill by Ohio courts.