ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 21, 1996 TAG: 9612230058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOANNE POINDEXTER STAFF WRITER
A Franklin County probation and parole officer found dead at his Gretna home died of blows to his head, police said Friday.
Pittsylvania County Sheriff G. Harold Plaster said officers found Bernard R. Rosser Jr., 55, dead shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday.
Rosser's supervisor, Jeri Barnett, had contacted the Franklin County Sheriff's Office to see if any accidents had been reported on Virginia 40, the route Rosser usually traveled to work, after Rosser failed to show up for work or to answer telephone and beeper messages.
Although Rosser had said Wednesday he might be late Thursday because of expected inclement weather, Barnett and co-workers became concerned when he did not call in.
She said Franklin County authorities asked Pittsylvania County authorities to check on Rosser, who had been in probation and parole work 31 years.
Plaster said no one was at the house when Rosser's body was discovered and there are no suspects.
Rosser, who spent most of his career working with juveniles, moved to Gretna a couple of years ago to get away from the "hustles and bustles" of large city life, Barnett said. He had worked in New York City and Houston before coming to the Virginia Department of Corrections' Division of Community Corrections.
He worked with adults the courts and parole board thought needed more frequent supervision and monitoring, Barnett said.
"He was a wonderful, very caring and giving individual. He was well liked and [people he supervised] have been saddened. He was well-respected by the judicial community and those he supervised," she said.
Rosser is survived by his wife, two children and two stepchildren.
LENGTH: Short : 40 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB