- Term
Pat Garrett
- Alternate Term
Garrett, Pat
Patrick Floyd Garrett
- Occupation/Role
law enforcement
- Date
1850-1908
- Remarks
Patrick Floyd Garrett was born in Alabama and raised in Lousiana. At the age of 19 he became a buffalo hunter in Texas, eventually moving on to New Mexico. In 1877 he married Juanita Gutiérrez, who died a few months later. Three years later, he married her sister, with whom he had nine chidren. The same year, running as a Democrat, he became Sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico. It was as sheriff that he became best known, for tracking down and capturing Billy the Kid. When Billy escaped while awaiting trial, Garrett tracked him down again and killed him. After a failed run for state senator, Garrett became a Texas Ranger, than moved back to New Mexico, where the governor asked him to track down the abductors of a Texan state senator. Garrett did, then was appointed Customs Inspector by Teddy Roosevelt in 1901. Garrett eventually retired, and died under mysterious circumstances (shot in the back of the head) in 1908.
- See Also