Cowboy Down

Murdered Southern Arizona rancher Rob Krentz's family talk about his life and death

Comments (0) By Paul Rubin Wednesday, Jun 9 2010

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SHERIFF LARRY DEVER says there never has been a case in his 30-year police career that he's wanted solved more than Rob Krentz's murder.

Paul Rubin

Cattle rancher John Ladd at the border in Palominas

Cochise County cattle rancher Rob Krentz and his dog, Blue, shortly before their deaths

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His department's investigation continues, with the assistance of federal agencies that have more manpower and technology than are available to the financially strapped county.

"Let me put it like this," Dever says. "I have never seen one single event put such a huge exclamation to a movement, if you will, of people saying, 'Let's solve this illegal-immigration problem.'

"At one point, I thought it was very possible that we were going to see the killer tied to a fence somewhere on this side of the border dead with some incriminating evidence on him. But that hasn't happened.

"We obviously aren't rushing to judgment, and we are not going to arrest someone for the sake of arresting someone. We don't do that."

Sue Krentz reports that friends have gotten her a new dog, a "big Brazilian hound of some sort." She named him Bull and surely will come to love him.

But not a minute goes by, Sue says, that she doesn't picture Rob and Blue on their ATV, going out to do what they loved.

Rob and Blue were cremated.

"Rob told me at one point that if he died before me, he wanted his ashes spread down on the creek, a place he loved so much," Sue says. "I've got both Rob and Blue with me right now. But I'm just not ready to do that yet."