NEMO Major Case Squad Honors the Late Mike Kite

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.

← Back

By Echo Menges

Members of the Northeast Missouri Major Case Squad presented a plaque to the family of the late Mike Kite, former Knox County Sheriff, for his service and dedication to the organization, his time as Sheriff and as a local law enforcement officer. The plaque was presented in the courtroom at the Knox County Courthouse on Monday afternoon May 9, 2022.

A small group of attendees listened to remarks from Lewis County Sheriff David Parrish. A prayer was led by Macon Police Chief Adam Dawdy. Introductions of the attendees in law enforcement were made by Sheriff Parrish. A moment of silence was observed in honor of Kite. And, the plaque was presented to Knox County Sheriff Allen Gudehus – who then presented it to Bonnie Kite.

Remarks from Sheriff Parrish

“I’ve had the honor of being the president of the Northeast Missouri Major Case Squad for the past year or so. As you all know, when Sheriff Kite passed away unexpectedly almost two years ago, I was on the board and we had an opportunity to recognize Mike. Captain Steven Wilhoit, who has since transfered to the west side of the state, Steve called me right after Mike passed away. He and Modeste (Ewing), longtime secretary of the Major Case Squad, those two in particular had a wonderful relationship with Mike. Mike was an unbelievable hero when it came to collaboration and making everyone feel welcome. Whatever the task may be, you were always glad when Mike was there. He led us in the Major Case Squad for many, many years. Interesting to note, Knox County also had an outstanding leader in (retired) Sheriff (Dan) Bishop – who also led the Major Case Squad. The Major Case Squad has been together since 1985. It’s a collaboration between police chiefs, sheriffs, the highway patrol and various other state agencies that work together for major cases. Also, and I think more importantly, we get together about every other month and we talk about what’s going on. Chief (Adam) Dawdy from the Macon Police Department hosted our last meeting. We discussed the vehicle thefts that were occurring around Macon and Knox County. It’s those kinds of conversations we like having and we think are beneficial to our community safety. I’m not aware of us presenting a plaque like this in the past.”

Remarks from Sheriff Gudehus

“On behalf of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the Edina Police Department, I’d like to thank the board for thinking of Mike. He was a good friend. I worked with him for a long time. I’d like to present this to Bonnie and Troy.”

Remarks from Modeste Ewing

“It didn’t matter who the person was that Mike came in contact with. He always wanted to help them in some way, and to help them better themselves if they were in a bad position. He truly looked at people that they were not bad people, they just made bad choices. He wanted to help them improve their lives. I think all of us can learn from that.

A video of the presentation is available online on the NEMOnews Facebook page.