Benton County Indiana Sheriff's Department

06/02/2026

Old scam with new twist going around that I want to alert everyone to. We had a citizen who received a call claiming to be Chief Deputy Austin Rennick of the BCSO. This individual claimed he was working with the FBI and shared a variety of the citizens personal information including bank account numbers and his SS #. The caller then gave the citizen a phone number to call the FBI at to confirm the Chief Deputy was working with them. The citizen called the number and a 2nd person claiming to be with the FBI in Washington DC, confirmed that the Chief Deputy was working with them.

Long story short, the citizen did not agree to give any money. The citizen came to the BCSO to report the incident and a report was written. It is important to note that this group is spoofing our main dispatch number to make it look like they are calling from 765-884-0080.

Please remember, the BCSO will not call you and ask for money claiming you will be arrested if you do not comply. Please share with your friends and neighbors and always call to report activity like this. It is always a good idea to reach out to your banking institutions and ask them what you need to do to protect your accounts.

V/R
Sheriff Cox
BCSO

05/30/2026

05/30/2026

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office is taking applications for the position of Merit Deputy. Follow this Indeed link for more information!

https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=90e2f5df015d130a&from=appshareios

Sheriff Cox

05/22/2026

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Deputy Jon Samuelson, his family, and the men and women of the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office.

Deputy Samuelson stopped to assist a stranded motorist near Michigan City, Indiana. The motorist requested Deputy Samuelson transport him the the Franciscan Hospital in Michigan City. After Samuelson dropped him off, he was alerted to the fact the suspect was implicated in a criminal event that had taken place a short time before Samuelson stopped to help him.

Samuelson went back into the hospital to try and locate the suspect. Samuelson was immediately fired upon by the suspect and was struck several times. Deputy Samuelson was flown to South Bend Memorial Hospital in Critical Condition.

Please keep the Deputy in your thoughts and prayers over this memorial weekend. Again, senseless violence against a law-enforcement officer simply trying to help.🙏😞

Sheriff Cox

05/22/2026

The men and women of the Benton County Sheriff’s office would like to wish everyone a safe Memorial Day weekend. To the families of all of the veterans who are no longer with us, thank you for their service and sacrifice.

Sheriff Cox

05/21/2026

Update…. Power has been restored and 750 E is open!…..

Avoid 750 East and 600 South until further notice. The area is closed due to a tree down on power lines which we have been told has around 1000 electrical customers out of service.

05/21/2026

An excellent opportunity to honor our veterans.

05/21/2026

The Benton County Sheriffs Office is excited to share some wonderful news for our community. Josh Brainard and his company, Canine Deployed, donated a trained single purpose drug dog to the Benton County Sheriffs office. "Voice" is a 1.5 year old Belgian Malinois who was born in Germany. Voice and his handler, Deputy Clements, are now in the bonding process and Voice will have his final narcotics certifications in July. This $16,000 dollar donation is a blessing as we continue to fight the m**h, fentanyl and other serious drug problems in our community! For more information on Canine Deployed, follow this link https://www.canine-deployed.com/