Marshal Percy Brewster

On March 2, 1927, Sultan Town Marshal Percy Brewster was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a murder suspect connected to a robbery investigation in town. The killing shocked the small Sky Valley community and launched one of the largest manhunts in the region’s early history.

Brewster had become well known throughout Sultan as a respected marshal and local businessman. After questioning a suspicious man connected to a robbery investigation, Brewster and fellow officers attempted to bring the suspect, Edward Sickles, into custody. During the confrontation, Sickles drew a concealed pistol and fatally shot Brewster before escaping from the town jail only hours later. The dramatic escape triggered a massive regional search effort stretching across Washington and into Canada.

The story quickly became larger than the crime itself. Newspapers throughout the Pacific Northwest followed the pursuit, courtroom trials, prison escapes, and eventual capture of Sickles. The murder deeply affected Sultan residents, many of whom remembered Brewster as a hardworking and respected figure in the growing community. His death became part of local folklore and remained one of the valley’s most talked-about historical tragedies for generations.

Nearly eighty years later, the story resurfaced when family members, historians, and local researchers uncovered photographs, records, and long-forgotten details connected to Brewster’s life and death. Artifacts tied to the case, including the revolver associated with the shooting, eventually became part of local historical displays in Sultan. The story also renewed interest in preserving the memory of Brewster and the turbulent events that unfolded in the small logging and railroad town during the 1920s.

Today, the Percy Brewster story remains one of the most compelling true-crime and law-enforcement stories in Sky Valley history, connecting Sultan’s early frontier-era law enforcement, regional growth, and community memory into a single unforgettable chapter.