A Community Says Good-bye to its Hero

Sigourney– Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Sigourney to say farewell to it’s local hero.

Eric Stein was shot and killed by Jeffrey Krier while attempting to question Krier about a previous evenings incident.

Keokuk County Sheriff Jeff Shipley, was with Stein during Monday’s tragic events. Shipley stated that Steins actions were nothing short of heroic.

The three Keokuk County officers were pinned down by Krier. Fellow law enforcement from around the area converged on the area in support of their officers that were trapped at the top of a hill where the Krier home was located. Stein, recognizing that if the officers attempted to join them they would be exposed to fire without cover, called down to supporting units and told them not to come up the dead end gravel road that lead to the residence.

Only after Stein was shot did officers then take up locations closer to the farm.

Those are the actions of a hero. In today’s world, that word is used to generously, but this case proves the power of that word and its true usage.

Eric was one of those persons that makes a deep impact in their community. From working as a volunteer firefighter in his home town of What Cheer, to his time of helping people when he worked at the Keokuk County Ambulance Service.

He had served the community with the Keokuk County Sheriff’s Office since 2000, and was promoted to Sergeant in 2006.

His procession was “16 miles of emergency vehicles” and took over an hour to pass by any given spot.

Deputy Eric Stein was honored by Local and State law enforcement and fire departments.

On the way to Garrett Cemetery, the procession passed along rows of US Flags placed in honor of Stein. They lined the highways for miles as they took Eric on one more ride to his home town of What Cheer, before arriving at his final resting place.

Mahaska County residents that are members of our CERT team helped to park the miles of cars in the hot sun. Mahaska County Emergency Management was there with their mobile disaster unit helping to coordinate the CERT team. Just one more example of the selfless nature of people, and their desire to show gratitude to our local hero.

A fund for Eric Stein has been set up at Keokuk County State Bank to help protect those that he left behind.