Stone County Officer Honored for Assistance with Senior Fraud Case

An officer with the Stone County Sheriff's Office has been honored for his work in assisting an elderly resident who had been defrauded of over $17,000.

Captain Karl Wagner received the Stone County Protector of the Month Award at a recent Neighbors and Friends of Table Rock Lake Luncheon after helping an elderly woman recover her savings after a scam caller claiming they were with the federal government said her money had been involved in a crime and convinced her to withdraw it and send it to an address on the east coast.

Though the scammers told her not to tell anyone, she did tell a family member that evening who contacted the Sheriff's Department. Captain Walker, on his day off, was able to track down the package and got it delivered back to the Sheriff's office and eventually returned to the woman. 

Residents wishing to nominate other Law Enforcement, EMT's, Prosecutors, or anyone helping protect Stone County Citizens can do so through the this form.

The complete release can be read below:

It was our pleasure this past month to honor Captain Karl Wagner of the Stone County Sheriff's Office the 3rd Stone County Protector of the Month Award for an amazing recovery of cash he made for a Stone County Resident.

Capt. Wagner has served for 27 years in law enforcement and 21 years with the Stone County Sheriff's Dept.  He has solved many crimes over the years.  One of his impressive accomplishments was saving $17,500 in cash he recovered for an elderly Stone County resident who was taken advantage of by people who represented to be with a federal agency.

One recent Friday, a senior Stone County resident was called on the phone by a group representing that they were with a federal agency investigating a criminal syndicate, and that her cash in the bank may have been involved in a federal crime.  These swindlers convinced this resident that the $17,500 she had in her savings account might be dirty money and that she had to send the cash by Federal Express overnight to an address on the East coast.  She was instructed exactly how to package the money and how to send it.  She was instructed to not tell anyone about this investigation, and that if she did not do exactly as she was told, she could be guilty of a crime and put in jail.  She was frightened by these criminals and did as she was told, withdrawing the money from her account and sending it exactly as she was told.

That evening, she told a family member what she had done.  The family member contacted the Stone County Sheriff's Office who turned the case over to Capt Wagner on Saturday morning, which was his day off.  Captain Wagner, against all odds, worked diligently through the maize of the FedEx bureaucracy to track down where the package was.  He was able to persuade FedEx to send the package to him at the Sheriff's office unopened with the $17,500 cash in tact.
On that Monday, he was able to return the money to the resident and even went to the bank with her to deposit it back in her account.

This is one example of the great work our protectors are doing for us.  We are all grateful for Capt Wagner and all the Stone County protectors who use their time and sometimes risk their lives keeping us safe and our property safe.

At the Neighbors and Friends of Table Rock Lake Luncheon in April, Capt. Wagner was given a plaque and a $200 check as an award for his hard work.

Please use the nomination form attached to nominate your favorite Stone County protector so that we can honor him or her in the coming months.  This may be a firefighter, EMT, police officer, Auxiliary member, prosecutor, ambulance driver or any person you feel sacrifices his or her valuable time to protect our freedom and keep us safe.  God Bless our protectors.