Rogers Police Officer Fred Marsh saw the ‘love of his life in distress’ and did ‘what a good human would do’, his fiance’s mother said
An Arkansas police officer drowned while saving his fiancée from a river, just hours after he proposed to her.
Rogers Police Department officer Fred Marsh, 24, was canoeing on the Elk River in Missouri with his fiancée Hailey and their friends on Saturday when she went into the water.
Marsh went to help her as she struggled with the current, and managed to get her to safety. However, he then became caught in the current himself and called for help before going under. His body was recovered on Sunday.
An Arkansas police officer drowned while saving his fiancée from a river, just hours after he proposed to her.
Rogers Police Department officer Fred Marsh, 24, was canoeing on the Elk River in Missouri with his fiancée Hailey and their friends on Saturday when she went into the water.
Marsh went to help her as she struggled with the current, and managed to get her to safety. However, he then became caught in the current himself and called for help before going under. His body was recovered on Sunday.
“He saw the love of his life in distress, and he was going to help his friend and do what a good human would do,” Marsh’s fiancée’s mother Sheryl Padgett told 40/29. “He gave his life helping someone else.”
Officer Fred Marsh died saving his fiancée Hailey hours after proposing to her
Officer Fred Marsh died saving his fiancée Hailey hours after proposing to her (GoFundMe)
Padgett her daughter had been dating Marsh for around three years when he proposed to her on Saturday morning, and “loved with everything he had.”
She described him as a “gentle giant” who worked hard and had a strong Christian faith.
“There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for anyone,” Padgett told 40/29. “You didn’t have to tell him. You didn’t have to beg him. He just was willing and would jump in there and do whatever it took to help someone.”
Rogers Police Chief Jonathan Best described his colleague’s death as a “heartbreaking loss” for the department.
“Office Marsh had a bright future ahead of him and had already made an impact on those who had the privilege of serving alongside him,” Best said in a tribute statement. “His willingness to serve others and the enthusiasm he brought to this profession will not be forgotten.