Missing Persons and Cold Cases

Homicide – Herman Hamlin

(In this series, “The McCreary County Voice” highlights local cases involving individuals still missing and unsolved homicides. Anyone with information (no matter how small) regarding any of the highlighted cases is urged to contact officials.

According to the December 15, 1987 edition of the “The McCreary County Record,” the body of a former McCreary County Sheriff, Herman Hamlin, was discovered shot and burned beyond recognition from a house fire at his Revelo home. Hamlin had been shot twice by a small caliber gun in or around the chest and died from internal bleeding. It appeared a flammable liquid had been spread throughout the bedroom where Hamlin’s body was found. The former Sheriff was a well-known businessman who was a trader dealing in dogs, guns, knives, and antiques. Hamlin’s wallet was not found, and robbery was a possible motive. Hamlin was hard of hearing and had been robbed previously.
More than thirty years later, the case remains unsolved. Anyone with information is urged to contact the McCreary County Sheriff’s Office at 606-376-2322 or Kentucky State Police.