The Wayward Lawman Something pushed Burt Alvord to the wrong side of the law.

Burt Alvord seemed headed down the righteous path in Tombstone and Cochise County. In 1886, at age 19, he was hired as a deputy sheriff by John Slaughter. He also served as a lawman in the towns of Fairbanks, Pearce, and Willcox—although his drinking was becoming a problem. Alvord’s father died in 1899, and that seemingly was a big blow. Alvord left his wife, quit his deputy sheriff job, and began riding the outlaw trail. He did a brief prison stint and then headed to South America, where he was last seen in 1910.