“Service Through the Community”

Deputy Gene Ashe’s tour of duty ended when he suffered a fatal heart attack following a high speed pursuit that went through narrow, steep mountain roads in three different counties on April 13, 1995. The officers were chasing a driver who was a member of a local militia movement that refused to register their vehicles or obtain license plates. The chase started when a Waynesville Police Officer attempted to stop the driver for not having a license plate. Deputy Ashe was later found in his patrol car approximately 0015 hours after breaking off from the chase.  The suspect was released from jail in 2002 after serving only five years. Deputy Ashe was a 14 year veteran of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

Eleven years after Deputy Ashe’s death, a section of US Highway 441 South was dedicated to Deputy Ashe’s memory. The signs were unveiled on April 13, 2006 by members of Deputy Ashe’s family, Sheriff Jim Ashe, and NCDOT Division Engineer Joel Setzer. The section of highway covers the same area where Deputy Ashe was found in his patrol vehicle following the chase that lead to his death.

(left to right; Nancy Buchanan, Millie Wood, Sheriff Ashe, Joel Setzer, and Susan Shannon)

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