Danny Defenbaugh, a former special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Office of the FBI, has died. His family says Defenbaugh died this week at Baylor Scott and White T. Boone Pickens Cancer Hospital.
"On behalf of the Defenbaugh family, our hearts grieve for Danny's many friends and colleagues, our country, and the world's loss of a great man. A patriotic man. A man who dedicated his whole life to thwarting off evil and defending America," his family wrote on Defenbaugh's Facebook page.
Defenbaugh, 71, was from Ohio and became a clerk for the FBI in 1969. He then became an agent in 1976.
Defenbaugh was a certified bomb technician and oversaw 150 investigations.
In 1995, he was the lead investigator of the bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He also worked on the investigation of the September 11 attacks.
Defenbaugh was special agent in charge in Dallas from 1998 until his retirement in 2002.
"The aura that surrounded him had such a presence. You knew he embodied greatness and strength," his family writes.
His family says Defenbaugh had undergone a bone marrow stem cell transplant. They say the transplant was successful, but "the complications that proceeded were just too much for his body to sustain."
"In closing this message we find it so fitting to share that while writing this, a couple of eagles flew over Danny & his wife, Jennifer Defenbaugh's property," they write.
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