United Cajun Navy details dangerous Texas flood rescues one year after Camp Mystic
Josh Gill, the incident commander for the United Cajun Navy, along with meteorologist Amy Metz, shared gripping firsthand stories of dangerous flood rescues in Texas, a situation that has already claimed two lives. They note a significant improvement in disaster preparedness compared to last year’s devastating Camp Mystic floods, which resulted in 28 fatalities. The rapid rise of the Guadalupe River—soaring 32 feet in just four hours—underscores the urgent need for constant readiness and caution.
Tragedy struck in Arkansas as a police officer drowned while heroically attempting to rescue his fiancée just hours after he had proposed to her, as recounted by her mother.
Fred Marsh, a 24-year-old officer with the Rogers Police Department, entered the fast-moving currents of Missouri’s Elk River on Saturday in a bid to help a swimmer in distress. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Marsh’s attempt to save another swimmer, who his fiancée’s mother identified as her daughter, ended tragically. The officer was pulled from the river and declared deceased on Sunday, following a joyous proposal to his fiancée, Hailey, that same Saturday morning.
“Their three-year relationship was filled with love and beauty,” Sheryl Padgett, Hailey’s mother, shared with KHBS. “Even though we never officially had him as a son-in-law, to us, Fred will always be part of the family.”
The couple, who shared three rich years together, were enjoying a canoe trip with another couple near Noel, Missouri, when Hailey became caught in the river’s strong current as she tried to return to their boat, prompting Fred’s heroic but tragic act.
Fred Marsh entered Elk River on Saturday and was recovered Sunday after asking his fiancée, Hailey, to marry him that morning. (GoFundMe)
Marsh and a fellow Rogers police officer who was with them then jumped into the water to help her, Padgett said. They were able to move her to safety, but Marsh became distressed and exhausted, went underwater and never resurfaced, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
“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 said. “He gave his life helping someone else.”
Padgett said Marsh was loving, hardworking and guided by his Christian faith, emphasizing that he never hesitated when someone needed help.
“There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for anyone,” Padgett said. “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.”
Padgett said she had lost her only son in a fatal accident four years earlier. She began calling Marsh her son soon after he started dating her daughter.
Fred Marsh and his fiancée, Hailey, had been together for three years. (GoFundMe)
“We instantly made a connection and a bond,” she said. “I called him son, and he called me mama.”
A motorcade escorted Marsh’s body through Northwest Arkansas on Monday as people lined up along the route to honor him. Padgett said the response from law enforcement and the community showed the impact Marsh had made on many others.
“They made it very clear that Fred was not just their family, but so was my daughter, my family and, even more importantly, Fred’s family,” Padgett said.
Marsh was in his first year with the Rogers Police Department. He graduated from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in April and only recently started working as an officer.
Fred Marsh was in his first year with the Rogers Police Department. (GoFundMe)
A GoFundMe created for Hailey by her sister to cover her lease, bills and other unforeseen expenses has raised nearly $2,000 as of Thursday morning.
“Fred was an upstanding young man- Son, Fiancée, Officer, Brother, Friend, and more to all. We are devastated and will miss him dearly,” the fundraiser reads.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Marsh’s family, and Padgett said the family expects officers, former classmates, childhood friends and others from across the state to attend.
“Let’s do something in Fred’s honor,” Padgett said. “Be kind to your fellow man. When Fred loved, he loved with everything he had, and he loved well.”