Welch, Detective Frank

On June 3, 1912, Detective Frank Welch of the Aberdeen Police Department was shot and mortally wounded while investigating a report of a suspicious circumstance. He died of his injuries the following day.

A woman called for the police upon hearing unusual noises outside of her house. Detective Welch responded to the home and was checking outside. The woman’s husband (John Creech), thinking his wife was cheating on him, returned home early from work and was lying in wait for another man he suspected was coming to his house to court his wife. As Detective Welch was looking around the Creech home for the source of the noise, he was shot by Mr. Creech. Detective Welch was transported to the hospital where he died the next morning.

John Creech was arrested and charged with murder. He was eventually acquitted of the murder charges in Grays Harbor Superior Court by unanimous verdict.

Detective Welch had served with the Aberdeen Police Department for only five months, and had previously served in law enforcement with the Seattle Police Department and San Francisco, California, Police Department.