on me," Dunnaway said. "The people put the badge on me. I don't lose sight of that."

Challenges of the job

During Dunnaway's tenure, his office investigated 12 homicide cases. Bodies were discovered buried in backyards and dumped in ponds and wells. A rural drug dealer with a vault in his basement was killed by burglars. All were solved. Suspects were arrested and convicted.

"You feel good when you solve a case and bring somebody to justice," Dunnaway said.

Dunnaway was never afraid to call for help from other agencies, said Larry Welch, retired director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and a Lawrence resident.

"His department is a joy to work with," Welch said. "Nobody was ever reluctant to go work a case with him."

In his many years on the job, Dunnawayhasn't fired his gun at anyone - except when he had to put down an animal.

But that doesn't mean he hasn't had some frightening moments, such as the time a man put a shotgun to his back, not knowing he had the sheriff.

The most frightening incident, he said, came during a 2005 flood. During the night, a woman was washed into a field where she held onto the top of a cornstalk.

"We could hear her screaming," Dunnaway said. "It's horrible when you hear a woman screaming and you can't tell where she is."

Dunnaway took a recently purchased airboat to the scene. He hadn't learned how to drive the boat yet but put it in the water anyway to search for the woman. A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper and