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Ontario Provincial Police Uniform 1940 (OPP Museum)1940
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Stringer arrived at the station well before the other police. He and the doctor arrived at about the same time as George and Eric Smith and they found several people tending to the fallen ‘soldier' including the Heintzes and ‘Middi' Huneault and his wife Peggy, who lived next to the station.It didn't take but a moment for Stringer to realize that not only was the victim not a soldier but that he was a policeman and a colleague of his – Hal Dent.
Bill Heintz had mistakenly identified Dent's OPP uniform, then khaki coloured and similar to that worn by the military, as that of a soldier's.
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Constable Harold Dent (actor) lays dying on the floor of the Navan train station2004
Navan, Ontario
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Stringer knelt down beside the fallen officer who appeared to be seriously wounded and in considerable pain."It's Allan Stringer here, Harold. What can I do?" Grimacing from the pain of his two gunshot wounds, Dent still managed to say hello to Stringer and to give him a brief description of the foreigner named "Scott." "My gun's under the bench," said Dent. "Go get him! Go get the man!"
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Eric Smith1940
Navan, Ontario
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Without a moment to lose Stringer picked up Dent's .38 calibre revolver from the floor, said goodbye to Dent and prepared to leave the station with George Smith.Before driving off Stringer ordered Eric to wait at the station for the Ottawa police so that he could show them the way south when they arrived.
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View of Spears' Bush looking south-east from Milton Road, Navan. Arrow indicates Miki's route2004
Navan, Ontario
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Stringer and the elder Smith left the station and headed south on Milton Road after the shooter.9
Entrance to Spears' farm2004
Navan, Ontario
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It was Stringer's hope that they could head the shooter off before he entered the woods but they were just moments too late. They saw Miki head into the dense tangle of trees.Fearing that Miki might have seen their approach, Stringer ordered Smith to drive to a spot further down the road. There, he got out of the car and directed Smith to park the car near the entrance of Spears' farm and to watch for the shooter should he try to escape at the other end. Then Stringer quietly entered the bush, Dent's .38 revolver in his hand.
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Miki (actor) hides in Spears' Bush2004
Navan, Ontario
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Within minutes Stringer was shot at twice, one bullet narrowly missing his head. With Dent's gun in hand he dropped quickly to one knee, assuming a marksman's stance and peered through the thick woods for signs of the shooter.After firing his two rounds and then hearing no sounds, Miki mistakenly assumed he had shot his pursuer. His mistake, however, was Stringer's opportunity. Seeing the shooter just 20 to 30 feet in front of him, Stringer took careful aim with Hal Dent's gun and then fired one shot at his target. The man appeared to have fallen but Stringer couldn't be sure. He fired two more shots in the direction of the shooter but remained unsure as to whether or not one of the bullets had found its mark.
For a moment, all was quiet.
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Elgin Street Police Station, Ottawa, Ontario (Ottawa Police Services)1940
Ottawa
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During the shoot-out in the bush, police from the Ottawa and Ontario Provincial Police detachments had arrived at the station, joining dozens of locals who had gathered outside. |
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