Audrain County was established on December 17, 1836. At that time, the Office of Sheriff was located in the courthouse in the center of Mexico, Missouri. In those days, the Sheriff was not allowed to succeed himself. Many times, the Sheriff, Chief Deputy, or brother often traded terms serving as the Sheriff. The first Sheriff that served successive terms was H. Ross Vance. Sheriff Vance was elected to the Office of Sheriff in 1948 and served 20 years for Audrain County.

The old jail still stands at 205 South Clark in Mexico. The County Commission sold the old jail to a local business entrepreneur in the spring of 2000. The old jail was erected in 1925. At the time it was built, it was considered to be the best of all jails in Missouri. The jail was built as a maximum-security jail and it was built with gallows. It was erected to house federal prisoners. The jail was seperate from the courthouse, and located by the railroad tracks so that the federal prisoners could be transported from St. Louis and Kansas City by train.

At the time that the jail was being erected, the Sheriff, Chalmus Blum was shot and killed by a man near the railroad tracks, not very far from the site of the jail. Sheriff Blum was summoned to investigate a complaint of a man being drunk and disorderly. The events of Sheriff's Blum's murder happened almost exactly the way the Sheriff was killed in the movie "Places in the Heart". Immediately after the murder of Sheriff Blum, his brother (J. Ernest Blum) was sworn in as the new Sheriff. Sheriff Blum's killer was granted a change of venue to Montgomery County. He was tried, found guilty, sentenced to death, and hung in Montgomery County. If he had not asked for and been granted a change of venue, he would have been hung in the newly built gallows of the Audrain County Jail. Shortly after the new jail was erected, death sentences on the county level was outlawed; and the gallows of the Audrain County Jail were never used.

The Audrain County Jail also served as the living quarters of the Sheriff until 1980. Sheriff Arthur A. (Bud) Riley was the last Sheriff to live at the jail. Sheriff Riley's successor turned the living quarters into office space for himself and his deputies.

A 1/2 cent sales tax proposal was submitted and passed by the voters in 1997. With the passage of the sales tax, a new jail was constructed on the east edge of Mexico. The Sheriff's Office moved into the new jail in October of 1999. The address of the new jail is 1100 Littleby Road.

The current Sheriff, Stuart D. Miller, is a graduate of Truman State University. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice and Business Administration. Sheriff Miller is certified as a law enforcement instructor, with over 5000 hours of criminal justice education. He is currently serving his seventh term in the Office of Sheriff, serving longer than any other Sheriff in the history of Audrain County. Sheriff Miller serves on the Board of Directors of the East Central Drug Task Force, Missouri Sheriff's Association, and he is an Advisor of the Mid-Missouri Major Case Squad, as well as a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Mexico, and a member of many civic and professional organizations.

Sheriff Miller currently employs 1 Chief Deputy, 18 Jailers, 8 Patrol Officers, 2 Detectives, 3 Court Bailiffs, 2 Transport Officers, 3 Record's Officers, 6 Volunteer Officers, 1 Custodian, and 3 drug task force officers. His office offers a scholarship to graduating seniors who are pursuing a career in criminal justice. He sponsors a cadet program for high school aged youth. The cadets assist his Jailers, and they ride along with the Deputies while on patrol. Sheriff Miller's deputies also provide for the citizens of Audrain County self defense classes, training on the concealed handgun law, bicycle safety, home safety, and other law enforcement topics. His investigators clear an average of 34% more of all burglaries and thefts when compared to the national average. His deputies have also been responsible for over 2000 drug and alcohol arrests since his election to the Office of Sheriff in 1984.

Sheriff Miller and eleven of his deputy sheriffs are certified as law enforcement instructors by the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Sheriff Miller and his deputies teach law enforcement classes through the Missouri Sheriff's Association. These officers (instructors) enable him and his deputies to provide continuous education to Audrain County and other area law enforcement agencies. In 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and again in 2010, his office along with the Missouri Sheriff's Association sponsored a 700 basic law enforcement academy and they are looking forward to sponsoring another one sometime in the near future.

Sheriff Miller has joined forces with the cities of Mexico, Montgomery, and Vandalia, the counties of Montgomery and Warren and the Missouri State Highway Patrol to form the East Central Drug Task Force. Sheriff Miller applied for federal grants to fund the task force. Through his efforts, nearly 4 million dollars has been secured to help the task force officers combat the drug problem facing the east central region of Missouri. Sheriff Miller and his deputies have also received money from grants for the purchase of radio communications, Live Scan fingerprinting, mobile data terminals (laptop computers for his patrol cars), and other safety equipment.

Current emploees of Sheriff Miller have relatives who have served with the Audrain County Sheriff's Office over the past years. Major Don Uhey's grandfather (Sheriff Paul E. Hammett) served as the Sheriff of Audrain County from January 1, 1937 through December 31, 1940. Another former Sheriff, James Beatty who served from January 1, 1945 through December 31, 1948 is the father of Col. Roy P. Beatty, USA Retired. Col. Beatty's wife (Bonniejean Miller), is Sheriff Stuart Miller's aunt. And, Sheriff Miller's father (Daniel R.) served as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff under Sheriffs Arthur A. (Bud) Riley, and Gary D. Kitchen and as Court Bailiff under Sheriff James A. Barber.

The Sheriffs of Audrain County

The following is a list of Sheriffs who have served Audrain County since it became a county in 1836.

Updated 2006-07-07