This story was published in the Post-Dispatch on Saturday, Jan. 12, 1991.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County police continued their largest manhunt ever Friday night, tracking a man who had shot a county police officer in the back of the head, apparently with the officer's own revolver.
The officer,ÌýJoAnnÌý³Õ.ÌýLiscombe, 38, of Jennings, was in critical condition Friday afternoon after four hours of surgery at Christian Hospital Northeast, in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County.
Liscombe, a 16-year veteran of the North County precinct, was found lying in the snow about 1:25 a.m. Friday near the intersection of Old Halls Ferry Road and Patricia Ridge Drive. A passer-by who discovered her had noticed the light fromÌýLiscombe's fallen flashlight.
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Police had no witnesses to the shooting, said County Police Lt. John McCrady.ÌýLiscombe's gun has not been recovered.
Jim Brady, director of information for the County Police, said police had ''some potential suspects but no solid suspects.''
The search focused on a man, described as possibly intoxicated and acting ''squirrelly,'' who had been seen walking along Old Halls Ferry just after 1 a.m. Friday. The man was described as black, 30 to 40 years old, a slight beard and mustache, 6 feet tall and 170 to 200 pounds, wearing a stocking cap, black coat and blue jeans.
Just before the shooting,ÌýLiscombeÌýwas in a nearby 7-Eleven store - a store where she often stopped for coffee - when a customer came in to complain about the strange man walking on Old Halls Ferry.ÌýLiscombeÌýleft the store at 1:13 a.m., and police did not talk with her by radio after that.
Liscombe'sÌýpatrol car was found abandoned, its engine off but red lights still flashing, less than a mile away at the corner of Ebert and Netherton drives in North County. About 200 officers began searching for the man about 6 a.m. in the Hathaway Manor North subdivision.
In addition to the shot to the head, the palm ofÌýLiscombe's left hand had a bullet wound, Brady said. That led police to believe thatÌýLiscombeÌýhad struggled with her assailant.
Liscombe's parents and a few close friends waited in the hospital's intensive care unit throughout the day on Friday. One friend, a police officer in Overland, said they had spent the day praying, trying to keep the family's spirits up.
Brady said Friday night that officers would continue working throughout the night.
Building searches were suspended until daylight today but informational roadblocks were set up in the vicinity of the shooting. Officers were asking drivers if they had seen anything unusual there.
Brady said police still believed that the attacker was in the area because he was on foot when first sighted and he was on foot after abandoning the police car. No reports of stolen cars were received, Brady said.
Residents of the Hathaway subdivision who were home during the search Friday peered through windows and kept their children inside. One woman who identified herself only as Ruth has lived in her ranch-style home since 1974 and was thankful that she and her husband had installed iron bars on the home's windows and doors years ago.
''I just want the police to catch 'em,'' she said.
Dave Walker, who rents a house a few blocks from where Liscombe'sÌýcar was found, said he had turned in the name of one of his neighbors who is ''into drugs'' and fit the description of the suspect.
Since 1976, records show that 42 county officers have been shot at, and some of those have resulted in injuries. The last shooting of a county officer happened in June 1987.
Liscombe, who is single, joined the department in 1974 as a records clerk. In 1977, she became a dispatcher, and eight years later was trained and hired as a police officer. She has spent her entire career at the North County precinct and recently worked to train new officers.
Patrolman Skip Brownlow sat in his patrol car on Friday at the foot of the snowbank where LiscombeÌýwas found. Yellow crime-scene tape was stretched from a tree trunk to a mailbox a few feet away. Police helicopters passed overhead.
Brownlow met LiscombeÌýyears ago when they served together in the U.S. Navy Reserves.
''She was a super nice lady,'' Brownlow said. ''That was her goal, to become a police officer. She'd always take that extra step, always stop and make sure everything was all right, even when she was off-duty.''
Kim Bell covers breaking news for the ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Police sources said the break came when police recovered a .38-caliber pistol that the father reported missing from his home. That gun is believed to be one of two murder weapons, the sources said.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct spokesman's position in department.
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