Hours after slipping an engagement ring on his girlfriend's finger, an Arkansas police officer died trying to pull her from a Missouri river. Authorities say 24-year-old Fred Marsh of the Rogers Police Department jumped into the Elk River near Noel on Saturday when his fiancée, Hailey, began struggling in the current during a canoe outing, Fox News reports. A fellow Rogers officer helped get her to safety, but Marsh became caught in the current and went under; his body was recovered the next day. Hailey's mother, Sheryl Padgett, says Marsh had proposed to her daughter that morning.
Marsh graduated from the state's law enforcement academy in April and was in his first year on the force. A motorcade escorted his body through northwest Arkansas on Monday as residents lined the route. "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," Padgett, told KHBS. "He gave his life helping someone else." She said the couple "had been together for three beautiful years, and they had a very beautiful, loving relationship." She added, "Even though legally he was not my son-in-law, he will forever be my son.
Chris Frye, Marsh's cousin, told KNWA that being a police officer was his calling. "Deep down within, he always knew that's what he wanted to be," Frye said. "As tragic as this is, he died the hero. He gave his life to save someone else. And that hurts to say, but it is true. His heart was in the right place. He wasn't thinking about himself. He was thinking about others. That's the job of a police officer." A GoFundMe to support Hailey has raised more than $7,000.
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