Sheriff Tracy Murphree was born and raised in Yoakum County, Texas. He graduated from Plains High School in 1984 and then attended McMurry University, majoring in History and Political Science. Sheriff Murphree attended and graduated from the Texas Department of Public Safety Training Academy in 1988. He worked as a Highway Patrol Trooper in Morton and Denton from 1988 to 1994. He was then promoted to Sergeant in 1994 and was stationed in Pecos. As a Highway Patrol Sergeant, Murphree was responsible for five counties and 12 Troopers. In 1996, he became a narcotics agent with the Texas DPS narcotics division and was stationed in Houston, where he conducted narcotics investigations, including working undercover. In 1998, Murphree was selected as a Texas Ranger and stationed in Denton. As a Ranger, he led major investigations, including homicides. Also, while a Ranger Murphree served on the protective detail for Governor George W. Bush during his Presidential Campaign. Murphree retired from Texas DPS in 2011 with 23 years, 13 years as a Texas Ranger.

Twenty-four hours after retiring from DPS, Murphree was hired by the Denton County Sheriff’s Office as the Captain of the Criminal Investigations Division. As CID Captain, he supervised and was responsible for Criminal Investigations, Narcotics Investigations, and the crime scene unit. In 2014, Murphree left the Sheriff’s Office to work for Paladin. Paladin is a company that develops technology for Law Enforcement. Tracy Murphree was elected Sheriff of Denton County in 2016 and began his first term on January 1, 2017. Sheriff Murphree was re-elected in 2020. Sheriff Murphree and his wife, Stacy, have seven children.