Oliver Milton Lee was born in Burnet County, Texas, on October 31, 1865. Growing up on a ranch, he was a natural with horses. He was known to be good looking and charming. Historian C. L. Sonnichsen described Lee like this: “He had one great urge—he wanted to get ahead. He had one great talent—he was a natural shot.” Lee was a Las Cruces deputy sheriff when he became a suspect in the Fountains’ disappearance.
Following the Fountain case, Oliver Lee kept busy with ranching and politics. Over the next forty years he became a very prominent cattleman. Lee, a Democrat, switched to the Republican Party and went on to serve as the Republican county chairman and split time between the State Legislature and Senate. While in the legislature and senate, it was said that Lee always kept a loaded .45 under his coat, a claim his family denies. Oliver Lee died on December 15th, 1941, in Alamogordo.
Sources: Abousleman, Michel D., Who's Who in New Mexico, Vol. 1, (Albuquerque: The Abousleman Company, 1937); Bloom, Lansing B., and Paul A. F. Walter, New Mexico Historical Review, Vol. 2, (Albuquerque: Historical Society of New Mexico, 1927); Keleher, William A., Memoirs: 1892-1969: A New Mexico Item, (Santa Fe: Rydal Press, 1969); Recko, Corey, Murder on the White Sands: The Disappearance of Albert and Henry Fountain, (Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2007); Sonnichsen, C. L., Tularosa: Last of the Frontier West,(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1960); Alamogordo Weekly News, December 18, 1941; Gordon Owen note to author.
Murder on the White Sands Reviews; Murder on the White Sands Introduction and First Chapter; Information About Murder on the White Sands (# of pages, table of contents, etc.); Biographies of: Colonel Albert J. Fountain, Pat Garrett, John Fraser, Henry Fountain, Albert B. Fall, Oliver Lee, James Gililland, William McNew, Ed Brown, Thomas Branigan, William H. H. Llewellyn; 1896 Newspaper Accounts of the Fountains' Disappearance; Map of New Mexico Sites; Mesilla, New Mexico; Hillsboro, New Mexico; Search the Index; Buy Murder on the White Sands; Who do you believe murdered murdered Albert and Henry Fountain? Talk About it in the Forum; Murder on the White Sands Related Articles; Appearances; Links; Author biography; Corey Recko News; Contact coreyrecko@coreyrecko.com
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