PORT ANGELES, Wash. - Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and thousands of friends and colleagues are remembering U.S. Forest Service officer Kristine Fairbanks, who was shot and killed Sept. 20 while on duty in the Olympic National Forest.

KING

The American flag is folded at a memorial for Forest Service Officer Kristine Fairbanks, who was shot and killed in the line of duty.

Hundreds of uniformed officers marched in formation to begin the service held at Civic Field in Port Angeles.

Gregoire called Fairbanks a remarkable woman.

"She was incredibly brave, working alone in the woods with just her police dog. Kris knew that trouble could barge in at any time, be it timber poachers or meth labs, yet she never hesitated. She was a skilled guardian who protected our people and our natural resources," said Gregoire.

U.S. Forest Service Special Agent Anne Minden said Fairbanks was her best friend, as well as a partner in investigating thefts of ancient cedar trees in the Olympic National Forest.

Minden said Fairbanks took her to see a massive tree that she was watching over.

"Kris had tacked her business card to all four sides of that tree," said Minden. "On the front of her business card, she had written the phrase 'smile at the camera, followed by her favorite unrepeatable word used to describe bad guys."

Just two days after Fairbanks' death, three men pleaded guilty to to conspiring to steal and damage 31 old growth western cedar trees. She had been the lead investigator in the case.

The American flag is folded at a memorial for Forest Service Officer Kristine Fairbanks, who was shot and killed in the line of duty.

Fairbanks is survived by her husband Brian and her 15-year-old daughter, Whitney.

Memorial donations may be made to the Kristine Fairbanks Fund at any First Federal Savings and Loan branch www.ourfirstfed.com.

Cards and letters for Kris Fairbanks' family may be mailed in care of: Olympic National Forest - Pacific Ranger District, 437 Tillicum Lane, Forks,WA 98331

Investigators believe 36-year-old Shawn Matthew Roe of Everett killed the 51-year-old Fairbanks at the Forest Service's Dungeness Forks Campground in the mountains about six miles south of Sequim, Wash.

Investigators think Roe also shot and killed a Sequim area retiree, 59-year-old Richard Ziegler later that day.

Two Clallam County sheriff's deputies shot and killed Roe at the Longhouse Market & Deli in Blyn that night.