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.

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.

“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.

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.”

A terrifying incident unfolded in Connecticut when a son unleashed a brutal daylight assault on his father in front of their home, wielding a baseball bat with deadly intent. This chilling episode, captured on police bodycam footage, ended when officers intervened, ultimately resulting in the son’s death.

The tragic event involved Robert Jenkins III, aged 38, who was caught in a vicious act, repeatedly hitting his 69-year-old father, Robert Jenkins Jr., on their Meriden lawn. This shocking scene unfolded on a Sunday morning, as outlined by details in the Connecticut Insider.

Anthony Offiaeli, the first officer on the scene, confronted Jenkins with a stern warning to drop the bat. Despite being commanded to “put the f–king bat down,” Jenkins ignored the directive, prompting Officer Offiaeli to fire his weapon, according to the police bodycam recording.

Connecticut Inspector General Eliot Prescott provided further insights in a preliminary report, detailing how Jenkins III was continuously battering a motionless figure lying on the lawn. Prescott described Jenkins’ persistent assault, which culminated in his refusal to heed multiple orders to stand down.

Officer Offiaeli’s instructions were clear as he told Jenkins to abandon the weapon four times. However, Jenkins continued his relentless attack, refusing to comply and focusing his strikes on the victim’s head, despite the officer’s repeated commands.

“Officer Offiaeli then discharged his service firearm numerous times at Jenkins III. Several rounds struck Jenkins III, who then dropped the bat and fell to the ground.”

Offiaeli fired at least 18 rounds at Jenkins III.

Jenkins III died at 11:30 p.m. that night as a result of “multiple gunshot wounds of the torso” and his death was ruled a homicide.

Meanwhile, his father died as a result of “blunt force head injuries” and the manner of his death was also ruled a homicide.

It’s not clear if Offiaeli has been put on administrative leave. In Connecticut, it’s common for cops involved in fatal shootings to be put on leave pending the investigation.

Neighbors were left stunned over the attack in the residential town, situated between New Haven and Hartford.

“I don’t know every minute of every day, but when they were in public they were respectful; they were very social,” neighbor Raymond Prue told WTNH.

Kirsten Anderson, who also lives in the neighborhood, claimed Jenkins III previously had violent outbursts.

“He needed help,” she told WFSB.

“He had to have cracked to continue beating when the police were telling him to stop. That’s why police had to shoot.”

The Gulf Coast faced the brunt of a fierce tropical storm on Wednesday, leaving residents in dire situations as flooding overwhelmed homes and businesses throughout the southern region.

In the afternoon, Tropical Storm Bertha struck St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, located approximately 40 miles east of New Orleans. The storm unleashed maximum sustained winds reaching 45 mph.

Gusts from the storm extended up to 160 miles from its center, causing chaos such as a Waffle House sign toppling over onto a vehicle in Panama City Beach, Florida.

Forecasts predict that Bertha will maintain its tropical storm status as it approaches the upper Texas coast on Thursday. Consequently, late Wednesday night, the National Hurricane Center expanded Tropical Storm Warnings from Cameron, Louisiana, to Sargent, Texas.

Meanwhile, a Tropical Storm Warning continues for the Alabama-Mississippi border and the Greater New Orleans area. Many parks and piers along the coast remain shut amid the widespread flooding.

Flood watches also remained in effect Wednesday night from eastern Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina. 

In West Virginia, Governor Patrick Morrisey sent hundreds of National Guard members to the hardest-hit areas in the northern part of the state after declaring a state of emergency for all 55 counties.

The state Division of Natural Resources has already been involved in 85 rescues, and 19 National Guard and state police helicopters were either out on rescue missions or standing by if needed, Morrisey said at a news conference Wednesday night.

Three shelters that were opened Wednesday housed a total of more than 100 residents, he added.

When he was then asked whether anyone was unaccounted for, Morrisey replied: ‘We don’t have an exact number but we are concerned about fatalities,’ adding that ‘as soon as we have more information’ officials will provide details. 

‘This is a time for West Virginians to come together to do everything possible, not only to pray for all those who are affected, but we´re going to need a lot of help in the days and weeks ahead,’ he said. ‘Let’s help these communities rebuild.’ 

Forecasters said up to seven inches of rain fell in West Virginia, with Morrisey claiming some parts of the state received 4.5 inches in just 37 minutes.

‘There´s no place for the water to go,’ he said.

Video and photos on social media showed submerged vehicles in parking lots, including at a Walmart in Weston where muddy water surged far into the store. Across a nearby highway, a hotel’s main floor was inundated.

Emergency crews reported dozens of rescues of people stuck in submerged vehicles. However, some rescuers were unable to get to locations where floodwaters had cut off access.

But West Virginia was not the only state that was inundated with flooding as the closure of portions of Interstate 79, US Route 48 and numerous secondary roads. 

In Alabama, vehicles were seen becoming trapped in the sand on the west end of Dauphin Island overnight as waves crashed onto the shore and water levels rose quickly, according to Fox 10. 

Some bystanders were then seen grabbing a shovel and digging around the wheels of an SUV in a desperate attempt to free it from the water.

In Tennessee, Lisa Rocca told News Channel 5 her home’s foundation was slowly eroding from the flood water.

And at Ailor Gap Farms in Maynardville, Tennessee, owner Dan Woodcock said the remainder of this year’s harvest was wiped out from the flash flooding.

He told 10 News how the creek behind his property rose quickly during the storm surge, damaging about $8,000 to $10,000 in crops.

In the more than 30 years he lived in the area, Woodcock said he had only seen the water level get that high once before. 

He also described Wednesday’s flooding as a once-in-100 year event, with the water rising four feet and taking out all of the crops in his garden. 

‘This event carried fallen trees from upstream that had just been accumulating,’ he explained. ‘The trees and the debris or whatever wreaked havoc on everything, just destroyed it.’

Even though Woodcock said he built the farm to withstand flooding he ‘forgot about the debris.’

‘I should have known better,’ he admitted. ‘I mean, I was raised on the Gulf Coast and hurricanes. I should have known debris is what destroys everything more than water.’

Woodcock now plans on growing another crop to reduce the huge loss he is facing. But by the end of the season, the family farm may still be $3,000 to $5,000 in debt.

Despite the setback, though, Woodcock said he is not looking for donations.

‘It’s a big number and I’m on disability, so I have a very limited income. That’s two to three months’ worth of disability checks. So it’s quite an impact,’ he admitted. 

‘But we don’t need too much here; everything we have is paid for, so we’re OK. We’re going to be fine.’

Instead of donations, Woodcock said he is welcoming anyone who wishes to help with the cleanup efforts – and is encouraging people to support him by doing business with him and other local farmers. 

The heavy rains on Wednesday were part of wide-ranging storms – which also produced reports of tornadoes – stretching from the Cincinnati area across New Jersey to the New York City suburbs. 

Damage from a possible tornado was reported in the area of St. Marys and Belmont in West Virginia.

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, after Tropical Storm Arthur brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern US in June.

But Bertha is now expected to dissipate inland in Texas by Friday, the National Hurricane Center said.

Meanwhile, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned hundreds of miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.

It was forecast to gradually strengthen – with its swells spreading along the Baja California coast where it is likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip tides.