Sheriff Frank Roosevelt¶
Sheriff Frank Roosevelt is the sheriff of Radford, Virginia, a tired, by-the-book lawman who is sick of UFO talk, blames tourists and perverts for Radford's troubles, and steps back after a heart attack before the task force's return visit.
| Type | NPC |
| Aliases | Roosevelt; Frank; the sheriff; the previous sheriff (Radford Horrors) |
| Affiliation | Radford Sheriff's Department |
| Status | Alive; stepped back from the job after a heart attack (as of Radford Horrors 02) |
| First appearance | Radford Horror 01 |
| Played by | Andre |
Description¶
Roosevelt is an older, chubbier Black man in a traditional sheriff's uniform with a star and no hat. He has a big, firm, warm handshake and introduces himself as Frank (Radford Horror 01). He is named only in the first episode; in later episodes he is simply "the sheriff". He has not worked with the FBI before and wants everything done by the book.
History¶
Radford Horror: the first case¶
Roosevelt first spoke to the team by phone, where Molly Underhill handed him the call as "Frank", and he recommended aluminum foil on the bed feet at the Pay n' Stay to keep out bedbugs. He then met the team at the Lonely Mountain Diner. He had Deputy Molly Underhill check the team's credentials with the FBI, and set ground rules: "I just want to make sure there isn't gonna be any... and you'll pardon my French, cowboy bullshit going on." Kurt introduced Andrew as "Arnold" by mistake. The Biz's attempt to play the case down as make-work from Washington ran into Roosevelt's response: "I have two people missing, so I don't think it's nothing." (Radford Horror 01)
He briefed the team on Amanda Lucky and Mrs. Whateley. He recalled busting some high school kids with a drill about four years earlier, and had recently seen Amanda with the biker Matt McCready. He doubted that four-year-old Tyler saw what he said he saw, and said that Radford's only real problem was "the tourists... dumb as hell". He was fed up with UFO stories (Radford Horror 01). The sheriff said Mrs. Whateley had vanished "this morning" while also saying the woods had been searched "since last night".
In Radford Horror 02 he took the team to the Whateley house and the Radio Shack robbery file. He listed his department as himself, one deputy, a patrolman and some emergency deputies, with "a little bit of a meth problem". He had been on paternity leave when Abelforth Whateley robbed the store. His notes in the missing-dog file read "Perverts???", and he rejected the suggestion that someone was "fishing" for the dogs: "It's not fishing. It's perverts. You don't go fishing for perverts." (Radford Horror 02) See Radford's missing dogs.
In Radford Horror 05 he introduced the coroner, Dr. Mauden, to the team, and the town imposed a curfew on his orders (Radford Horror 05). In Radford Horror 06, with Wilbur Whateley, Dr. Lori and Derek Augustine all missing, he told Andrew, "it's usually not this bad." (Radford Horror 06)
In Radford Horror 08 he presented the official theory: a hidden basement with a spaceman costume and a journal, a cadaver likely Abelforth's, Wilbur as a serial killer who impersonated his brother, and a link to the cartel via the heroin found in the church. He closed the kidnapping case, handed the team the legible pages of Wilbur's journal, and told them Dean Lawson's car was missing. As the team left, he confessed to an irrational hatred of Bigfoot: "Whenever somebody says Bigfoot to me, I just want to punch them in their face." Dante told him, "about 12 pounds of poopy in a 10-pound bag." (Radford Horror 08) See The cartel.
Radford Horrors: stepping back¶
The task force returned to Radford a little less than a year later. By then, Molly Underhill is sheriff after a "battlefield promotion". The old sheriff had a heart attack earlier in the year, is on an hour a day of meditation, and is supposed to avoid stress. He is alive and does not appear (Radford Horrors 02).
Relationships¶
- Molly Underhill: his deputy and successor.
- Kurt Larson: the sheriff accepts him as the team's consultant.
- Andrew Howard: leader of the visiting task force.
Memorable quotes¶
Quote
"It's not fishing. It's perverts. You don't go fishing for perverts." Andre (as Sheriff Roosevelt) (Radford Horror 02)
Quote
"I just want to make sure there isn't gonna be any… and you'll pardon my French, cowboy bullshit going on." Andre (as Sheriff Roosevelt) (Radford Horror 01)