Sheriff Hardin Vickery was shot and killed as he attempted to arrest a suspect on a warrant.

A warrant had been issued for the suspect almost two years earlier for a murder he had committed in Arkansas, but could not be enforced while the suspect was still serving as Sheriff. The suspect was defeated in his bid for re-election by Hardin Vickery in 1878, Arkansas authorities began pressing for the warrant to be executed.

On March 8, 1879, Sheriff Vickery and a posse of twelve men went to the suspect's home in Ava to arrest him. Seeing their approach, the suspect barricaded himself in his house. Sheriff Vickery urged the suspect's wife to remove herself and her children from the home. The suspect's wife refused, and the suspect opened fire on the Sheriff's posse. The posse returned fire, but stopped when they realized that the house might be too durable for their bullets to penetrate it. Sheriff Vickery decided to approach the house to get a closer look at its construction and, as he was examining the structure, the suspect suddenly fired at him from inside the home fatally wounding Sheriff Vickery in the chest. The Sheriff's posse returned fire killing the suspect, Shelt Alsup, and the suspect's five-year old son.

Sheriff Vickery served as Sheriff of Douglas County for just over 4 months. He was survived by his wife and three children, Hardin Jr., Lula and Nora.