Joshua Tree National Park staff recently installed a replica of the Worth Bagley Marker at the spot where Bill Keys shot and killed Bagley in 1943. Managing editor Tami Roleff explains why a replica was needed…
The original marker designating the site of the 1943 shoot-out between Bill Keys and Worth Bagley was vandalized in 2014 and Joshua Tree National Park staff removed it and placed it in its museum for safekeeping. A steel replica was made and placed on the site to show visitors where one of the truly historical events in the history of the park happened. Keys said that Bagley ambushed him along the to the Wall Street Mill road and he returned fire in self-defense, killing Bagley. Despite his claim of self-defense, he was found guilty of manslaughter and sent to San Quentin State Penitentiary where he served five years of a 10-year sentence. He returned to his ranch in the park and was granted a pardon in 1956.
