A Box Elder County sheriff's detective was one of six law enforcers nationwide recently recognized by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The center held its annual eighth annual Congressional Breakfast and an awards ceremony last week in Washington, D.C. Among those invited to be honored was Box Elder County sheriff's detective Larry Johnston.
It was Johnston's work that led to the arrest of a man who was later charged with killing a young woman and dumping her body in a ditch near a church in Fielding.
The body of Jammie Richards, 17, was found Oct. 11, 2002. She was shot in the head.
"It was a difficult case to begin with because the girl had no ID on her. We had to establish her ID, who she was last with," Johnston said.
After following a couple of leads, investigators arrested Mark Jensen, a 39-year-old Hyrum resident with a long criminal history.
Following Jensen's arrest and upon further investigation, Johnston discovered several rapes in the area Johnston alleges also could be linked to Jensen. In addition to the capital murder charge, Jensen later was charged with several counts of rape, aggravated sex abuse of a child, sodomy and aggravated kidnapping.
Jensen could face the death penalty if convicted on the murder charge. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June.
Because of the work Johnston put into tracking down Jensen and linking him to several cases, he was presented with the 2003 National Missing Children's Award by Attorney General John Ashcroft. Johnston was one of three people to receive the award out of a field of more than 70 nominations.
Three Missing Children's Awards are handed out annually along with three Exploited Children's Awards.
"I feel great. It's kind of nice once in a while being praised rather than yelled at," Johnston said jokingly, adding that the praise has been "a humbling experience."
He noted however that he worked with several others to arrest Jensen.
"I wish everyone of them had gotten (an award). It's a textbook case how it all fell into line," Johnston said.
Johnston, who celebrates 30 years with the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office in two weeks, described himself as "a low profile type of guy. But I'm at the end of my career and (the award) is nice to get."
Johnston is the second Utah law enforcement officer honored by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in two years.
Salt Lake City police detective Rodney Mosher received a National Exploited Children's Award in 2002 for his work leading to the arrest of a pedophile in Seattle.
Utah may have the opportunity for having its offices honored three years in a row by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Those involved in finding Elizabeth Smart would be eligible for next year's nominations.
However, a spokeswoman for the center however said she did not know whether any officers involved in Elizabeth's recovery would be considered front runners for an award.
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