Web story by Patrick Walker

Yuma County sheriff’s deputies found an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer dead at a local shooting range Wednesday night.

YCSO says deputies responded to a 911 call at 6:43 p.m. Wednesday night from the Adair Shooting Range north of Yuma. When deputies arrived, they found James Howard dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Earlier in the day, deputies served a search warrant at Howard’s home in Roll. The search warrant was part of an investigation that began in early August into allegations by a woman that Howard molested her on a regular basis when she was a child, which was 20-25 years ago, according to a YCSO statement. Investigators questioned Howard, but did not arrest him.

In a release Wednesday, DPS confirmed Howard worked with the department and had been placed on administrative leave.

Thursday afternoon, DPS released a comment regarding Howard's death. “It's a tragic situation for everyone involved,” said Bart Graves, DPS Media Relations Supervisor.

We’ll have more details and reaction from Howard’s neighbors on the Early Edition at 5 p.m.