07:01 AM PDT on Thursday, June 8, 2006

Compiled by kgw.com Staff

Detective Nunnenkamp began his 17 year career at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy.

kgw.com/Washington Co. Sheriff's Office

Detective Randy Nunnenkamp in a family photo with his wife, Mary.

He later found his gentle manner and kind disposition well suited for teaching children drug resistance lessons while assigned to DARE (Drug Awareness and Resistance Education). Detective Nunnenkamp taught thousands of children the importance of staying away from drugs during his seven years with the DARE program.

Nunnenkamp was promoted to the position of Detective in 2002. His expertise in dealing with children became well known, and consequently he was assigned to the child abuse team.

His innovation and work ethic led him to pioneer a program to educate citizens about recognizing patterns of sex offenders. This program was a partnership with his wife Mary who works with the Washington County Commission on Children and Families. Together they educated thousands of teachers, clergy, and parents about the tell tale signs of sexual predator practices and child abuse recognition.

Nunnenkamp served on both the State and County Child Abuse Multi-Disciplinary Teams. These are teams made up of people from different agencies, including law enforcement, prosecutors, juvenile councilors, and Department of Human Service workers who come together for the sole purpose of preventing, as well as prosecuting, child abuse crimes.

Nunnenkamp also instructed new police officers at the Oregon Police Academy.

This year, the Oregon Peace Officers Association recognized Nunnenkamp with an award for "Outstanding Service in the Investigation of Crimes Against Children".

He was an avid motorcycle rider and a member of the Blue Knights, a fraternal organization consisting of active and retired law enforcement officers who enjoy riding motorcycles. When they were not teaching people how to avoid child molesters Randy and Mary loved to ride together.

Nunnenkamp is survived by his wife Mary, and three children. The Yamhill County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the crash that took the detective's life.

Family and friends are working together to hold a memorial service to be announced later in the week.