Lawrence County Sheriff Injured In Assault Near Miller:

Lawrence County Sheriff Brad De Lay says one of his deputies was assaulted in a knife attack Saturday night near Miller.

DeLay says the Deputy received minor injuries from an assault while investigating suspicious activity. Saturday evening around 11:00 p.m. the deputy was patrolling county roads south of Miller when he observed a subject in a hooded shirt walking down a county road.

As the deputy attempted to identify the subject, he bolted into a field. The deputy ordered the subject to stop but he continued to run. As the deputy approached an abandoned building he lost sight of the subject. As the deputy approached the building, a man grabbed the deputy from behind and a struggle ensued.

Another subject then attacked the deputy with a knife, slicing the him in the face and arm with the knife.

According to DeLay, the deputy was able to fire shots at the suspects. It is unknown if either of the suspects were wounded of the shots struck the suspects.

DeLay says he believes the deputy interrupted a meth cook manufacturing the drug because several materials used to make the illegal drug were located in the abandoned building. Those items were collected as evidence and are have been sent to the state crime lab.

The deputy, who received minor cuts, was treated and released at the scene.

Deputies from Lawrence County, Jasper County, Miller Police Department, Mt. Vernon Police Department, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to the area for assistance after the deputy radioed for help. K-9 units and the Highway Patrol helicopter also assisted in an extensive search of the area but the suspects are still at large.

The Lawrence County Sheriff's Office is asking that anyone who might have seen two subjects walking in the area during the late hours of Saturday night or early morning hours of Sunday, or perhaps a vehicle parked along the road way south of Miller to contact the Sheriff's Office at 417-466-2131 or call 9-1-1 with that information.