Beryl McClane was born on May 12, 1896. He married his sweetheart in 1918 after returning from World War I. He began his law enforcement career with the Aberdeen, South Dakota, police department. In 1936, his family moved to Ellendale, North Dakota, where he became the Chief of Police. McClane joined the North Dakota Highway Patrol in 1941, serving for seven years out of the Jamestown office before transferring to Napoleon.