Editing Johnny Ringo (section)

=== Michael O'Rourke theory ===

Some accounts attribute Ringo's death to [[Michael O'Rourke (gambler)|Michael O'Rourke]], an itinerant gambler who was arrested in [[Tucson]] in January 1881 on suspicion of murdering a mining engineer named Henry Schneider. Wyatt Earp is said to have protected him from being lynched by a mob organized and led by Ringo. O'Rourke escaped from jail in April 1881 and never stood trial on the murder charges.<ref name="bell">{{cite web|last1=Bell|first1=Bob Boze|title=Gunfight at the Stilwell Corral|url=http://www.truewestmagazine.com/gunfight-at-the-stilwell-corral/|access-date=24 March 2015|date=March 1, 2005|archive-date=9 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009142145/http://www.truewestmagazine.com/gunfight-at-the-stilwell-corral/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The last documented sighting of O'Rourke was in the [[Dragoon Mountains]] near Tombstone during May 1881, "well-mounted and equipped", and presumably on his way out of the territory.<ref>[http://tombstonehistory.tripod.com/weresign.html The Johnny Behind the Deuce Affair] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009173447/http://tombstonehistory.tripod.com/weresign.html |date=2016-10-09 }} tombstone history.com, retrieved October 7, 2016.</ref> From then on he is referred to only in unsubstantiated rumors and legends; according to one, a combination of the debt he owed Earp and the grudge he held against Ringo prompted him to return to Arizona in 1882, track Ringo down, and kill him. While some sources consider the story plausible,<ref>[http://www.wyattearp.net/duece.html "The Johnny Behind The Deuce Affair] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428074254/http://www.wyattearp.net/duece.html |date=2016-04-28 }} at wyattearp.net, retrieved October 6, 2016.</ref> others point out that O'Rourke, like Holliday, would have been reluctant to re-enter Arizona with a murder warrant hanging over his head, particularly to commit another murder.<ref>Davis, GM. ''Keeping the Peace: Tales from the Old West''. Booklocker (2012), p. 123. {{ISBN|1614349029}}</ref><ref>The Arizona ''Daily Star'', January 26, 1964.</ref>