BATON ROUGE, La. -- Elmer Litchfield, who served 23 years as sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish, has died, The Advocate of Baton Rouge reported Sunday.

Litchfield was elected to six terms and served from November 1983 until retiring in November 2006 for health reasons.

Details of his death were not immediately available. Funeral services were incomplete. A list of survivors was not immediately available.

During Litchfield's career, he had several health problems, including heart-bypass surgery and prostate cancer. Last September, Litchfield had surgery to repair a hernia.

The 79-year-old Litchfield, a native of Meridian, Miss., and a University of Mississippi graduate, began his career in law enforcement after serving almost two years in the Marine Corps.

Litchfield graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1950. A year later he joined the FBI, working as a special agent in Boston, Chicago, New Orleans and Baton Rouge until his retirement in 1979.

East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid J. Gautreaux, who succeeded Litchfield, praised the former law enforcement officer for "principled stand against crime."

"He accomplished for much for this parish. He dedicated himself to serving the pubic first in the United States Marine Corps, then with the FBI and finally as sheriff. He has served as a valuable role model and has laid very important groundwork," Gautreaux said in a statement.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff said Litchfield was a prominent figure in Louisiana law enforcement.

"The first name that people ask you about when you say you're from this area, they ask you about Elmer Litchfield," LeDuff said. "Were shadows in his figure."

Information from: The Advocate, http://www.2theadvocate.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)