Wake Authorities Continue To Search For Clues About Deputy's Murder

said there is some useful evidence at the crime scene where Deputy Mark Tucker was shot to death.

Tucker was found dead beside his unmarked patrol car in a field near Holly Springs Road and Winding Oak Way, just before 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Officials said Tucker was shot in the facial area and his gun was still in its holster.

Officials did not say what type of gun was used in the shooting, but they said there were no shell casings at the crime scene.

Matthew Tucker, Mark's son, said Friday he wanted to see the crime scene for himself.

"It's just a shock. It probably still won't hit me until next week, but I'm trying to be like my dad," he said. "I'm so grateful. You can't ask for better friends than the ones my daddy made."

Authorities were set up along Holly Springs Road near Apex Friday, asking motorists if they had any information about the homicide.

Investigators said they are looking for a white "boxy" car with a chrome grill and hood ornament, which reportedly was seen by a witness in the area.

"We are going to stop everybody that comes through and give them a flier," Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said Friday. "Hopefully, we will have somebody who saw something."

Authorities believe Tucker may have noticed something suspicious going on near the field while he was on his lunch break and went to check it out.

"We have a job to do; we are going to find his killer," Harrison said. "We are going to work around the clock until we find him."

Tucker had been with the Wake County Sheriff's Office since 1976, except for a short stint with the U.S. Marshals Service. He was appointed U.S. marshal for the eastern district of North Carolina in September 1999. He would have been eligible for retirement in almost two years.

Anyone seeing a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle or any suspicious activity should contact the sheriff's office at

(919) 856-6900

.

Several tributes are set up in honor of Tucker. A Wake sheriff deputy's car is draped in black outside the sheriff's office in downtown Raleigh.

Black ribbons also hang on the doors to the sheriff's office. Tucker was the third Wake sheriff's deputy killed in the last six months.

A 28-year veteran of law enforcement, Tucker will be buried Monday at Montlawn Memorial Park on Wilmington Street in Raleigh. Visitation is scheduled for Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Brown-Wynne Funeral Home at 200 S.E. Maynard Road in Cary.

Tucker's funeral is scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday at Midway Baptist Church on Fayetteville Road in Raleigh. The burial will follow.