Audrain County was established on December 17, 1836. At that
time, the office of Sheriff was located in the courthouse in the
center of Mexico, Missouri. in those days, the Sheriff was not
allowed to succeed himself. Many times, the Sheriff, Chief Deputy,
or brother often traded terms serving as the Sheriff. The first
Sheriff that served successive terms was H. Ross Vance. Sheriff
Vance was elected to the office of Sheriff in 1948 and served
20 years for Audrain County.
The past site of the Audrain County Sheriff's Office was 205
S. Clark in Mexico, Missouri. The jail was erected in 1926. At
the time it was built, it was considered to be the best of all
jails in Missouri. The jail was built as a maximum security jail
and it was built with gallows. It was erected to house federal
prisoners. The jail was seperate from the courthouse, and located
by the railroad tracks so that the federal prisoners could be
transported from St. Louis, and Kansas City by train.
At the time that the jail was being erected, the Sheriff, Chalmus
Blum was shot and killed by a man near the railroad tracks, not
very far from the site of the jail. Sheriff Blum was summoned
to investigate a complaint of a man being drunk and disorderly.
The events of Sheriff's Blum's murder happened almost exactly
the way the Sheriff was killed in the movie "Places in the
Heart". Immediately after the murder of Sheriff Blum, his
brother (J. Ernest Blum) was sworn in as the new Sheriff. Sheriff
Blum's killer was granted a change of venue to Montgomery County.
He was tried, found guilty, sentenced to death, and hung in Montgomery
County. If he had not asked for and been granted a change of venue,
he would have been hung in the newly built gallows of the Audrain
County Jail. Shortly after the new jail was erected, death sentences
on the county level was outlawed; and the gallows of the Audrain
County Jail were never used.
The Audrain County Jail also served as the living quarters of the Sheriff until 1980. Sheriff Arthur A. (Bud) Riley was the last Sheriff to live at the jail. Sheriff Riley's successor turned the living quarters into office space for himself and his deputies.
A 1/2 cent sales tax proposal was submitted and passed by the voters in 1997. With the passage of the sales tax, a new jail was constructed on the east edge of Mexico. The Sheriff's Office moved into the new jail in October of 1999. The address of the new jail is 1100 Littleby Road.
The current Sheriff, Stuart D. Miller is a graduate of Truman State University. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice and Business Administration. Sheriff Miller is certified as a law enforcement instructor, with over 5000 hours of criminal justice education. He is currently serving his sixth term in the Office of Sheriff. He has served in the capacity of Sheriff longer than any other Sheriff in the history of Audrain County. Sheriff Miller serves on the Board of Directors of the Missouri Sheriff's Association, and he is a Director of the Mid-Missouri Major Case Squad, as well as a member of many civic and professional organizations.
Sheriff Miller currently employs 1 Chief Deputy, 23 Jailers, 8 Patrol Officers, 3 Court Bailiffs, 1 Bookkeeper, 1 D.A.R.E. Officer, 6 Volunteer Officers, 1 Custodian, 5 drug task force officers, and 5 Cooks. His department offers a scholarship to graduating seniors who are going to seek a career in criminal justice. He sponsors a cadet program for high school aged youth. The cadets assist his dispatchers and jailers; and they occasionally ride along with the Deputies while on patrol. A Drug, Abuse, Resistance, and Education program was established in 1991. The D.A.R.E. Officer teaches students about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.
Sheriff Miller's deputies also provide self defense classes to the citizens of Audrain County. His investigators clear an average of 50% of all burglaries and thefts, well above the national average of only 16%. His deputies have also been responsible for over 1200 drug and alcohol arrests since his election to the Office of Sheriff in 1984.
Sheriff Miller and five of the deputy sheriffs are certified as law enforcement instructors by the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Sheriff Miller and his deputies teach law enforcement classes through the Missouri Sheriff's Association. These officers (instructors) enable him and his deputies to provide continuous education to Audrain County and other area law enforcement agencies. In 2003 his office along with the Missouri Sheriff’s Association sponsored a 640 basic law enforcement academy and they are looking forward to sponsoring another one sometime in 2005/2006.
In 2001, Sheriff Miller joined forces with the cities of Mexico, Vandalia, and Wellsville, the counties of Montgomery and Pike, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol to form the East Central Drug Task Force. Sheriff Miller applied for federal grants to fund the task force. Through his efforts, nearly $1,000,000 have been secured to help the task force officers to combat the drug problem facing the central region of Missouri.
Current emploees of Sheriff Miller have relatives who have
served with the Audrain County Sheriff's Office over the Past
years. Deputy Don Uhey's grandfather (Sheriff Paul E. Hammett)
served as the Sheriff of Audrain County from January 1, 1937 through
December 31, 1940. Another Deputy, Grey Crump's father (Bill)
served as the Chief Deputy of Audrain County under the direction
of Sheriff Arthur A. (Bud) Riley. Another former Sheriff, James
Beatty who served from January 1, 1945 through December 31, 1948
is the father of Col. Roy P. Beatty. Retired USA Col. Beatty is
married to Sheriff Stuart Miller's aunt. And, Sheriff Miller's
father (Daniel R.) served as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff under Sheriffs
Arthur A. (Bud) Riley, and Gary L. Kitchen and as Court Bailiff
under Sheriff James A. Barber.