Harold Ray Presley

Harold Ray Presley (October 5, 1948 – July 6, 2001) was an American sheriff known for his war on narcotics. He was the elected sheriff of Lee County, Mississippi, from 1993 to 2001. In 1995, he won the Buford Pusser Officer of the Year Award for his tough stance against illegal drugs. According to the Buford Pusser Home and Museum in Adamsville, Tennessee, Presley's department had confiscated more than $1 million in drugs including marijuana.

A cousin of Elvis Presley, he was a popular sheriff. In January 2008, a 7,766-pound monument which had been dedicated in his memory mysteriously vanished after having stood near the Lee County Jail for five-and-a-half years.

Early life and education Harold Ray was Elvis Presley's first cousin once removed. Noah was a city marshal and mayor of East Tupelo, where Harold Ray grew up.

Presley served in the United States Army and fought in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1970. According to his nephew, Presley completed a GED after finding religion and recovering from alcoholism in the late 1970s. Harold Ray only saw Elvis three times before his famous cousin died in 1977.

When Sheriff Jack Shirley offered him a job, Presley went to the police academy and joined the sheriff's department as a deputy in 1987.

Elections In November 1993, Presley was elected sheriff of Lee County in a special election held to fill the remaining two years of Jack Shirley's term, after Shirley died of cancer the previous year. Presley emerged as the frontrunner in a field of 14 candidates, and went on to win a runoff election against Chief Deputy Robert Armstrong, with 5,834 votes or 56 percent of the overall total, according to unofficial returns. Although he played down his connection to Elvis during his campaign, "Presley For Sheriff" political signs became a coveted souvenir among tourists. Named after the bat-wielding sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee, who inspired the 1973 film Walking Tall, the award was given annually for outstanding service in the line of duty; nominations were accepted from Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The program started in municipalities including Baldwyn, Guntown, Mooreville, Plantersville, Saltillo, and Shannon, as well as the city of Tupelo. Brandon later ran Presley's first campaign for sheriff.

On the same day that he received the Pusser Award in Adamsville, Tennessee, his son Patrick was arrested for attempted aggravated assault and was later charged with drug possession.

Death Presley died in the early morning hours of July 6, 2001, in a shootout with kidnapping suspect Billy Ray Stone (who kidnapped and killed Charlene Wright). The suspect had fled the scene of a roadblock and exchanged shots with pursuing officers. He managed to elude officers during a foot chase after crashing his vehicle. Later in the evening, Sheriff Presley received a call from Fellowship Road homeowner Robert Norris whose dogs were barking. Sheriff Presley, Deputy Jack Tate, and Norris entered a building behind the house where, during a gun battle, Presley pushed Deputy Tate clear of gunfire and was struck six times, mortally injured. He fired back at Stone, killing him with one shot. Wright died the following day from injuries she sustained after being ejected from her kidnapper's vehicle during the initial chase.

Legacy In November of 2001, a special election was held to elect a sheriff to serve the remainder of Presley's term. His brother, retired law enforcement officer Larry Presley, was elected to serve his term.

The State D.A.R.E. Officers' Association in Mississippi named its Officer of the Year Award in Harold Ray Presley's memory.

The Harold Ray Presley Memorial Committee raised funds to build an 8-foot tall, 11-foot wide memorial to honor Presley and five other law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. The 7,766-pound memorial near the Lee County jail was dedicated in August 2002. It vanished under mysterious circumstances in January 2008, prompting Larry Presley to request a formal investigation into its disappearance.