{"id":5149,"date":"2026-07-23T07:35:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T07:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5149"},"modified":"2026-07-23T07:35:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T07:35:59","slug":"selfless-cop-proposed-to-girlfriend-just-hours-before-sacrificing-his-life-to-save-her-from-raging-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5149","title":{"rendered":"Selfless cop proposed to girlfriend just hours before sacrificing his life to save her from raging river"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>A 24-year-old Arkansas police officer proposed to the love of his life just hours before making the ultimate sacrifice \u2014 drowning while trying to save her from a raging river.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5147\">Potential Lindsay Clancy jurors keep fleeing because of how horrible the case is: \u2018I just don\u2019t know if I can handle it\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Officer Fred Marsh of the Rogers Police Department had just asked his girlfriend, Hailey, to marry him Saturday morning before the couple headed out canoeing with friends on Missouri\u2019s Elk River.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe proposed to my daughter on the day he passed away, early that morning, and he made her his fianc\u00e9e,\u201d the fianc\u00e9e\u2019s mother Sheryl Padgett told 40\/29.<\/p>\n<p>The joyful celebration quickly turned into heartbreak when Hailey entered the river and began struggling against the powerful current.<\/p>\n<p>Marsh and a fellow Rogers police officer immediately jumped into the water and managed to pull her to safety. But in a cruel twist, Marsh was swept away by the fast-moving current and never resurfaced.<\/p>\n<p>The young couple had been together for three years.<\/p>\n<p>Padgett said she had formed a close bond with Marsh after the two connected over devastating personal losses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI lost my only son, four years ago, to a fatal accident in my hometown so we instantly made a connection and a bond. I called him son, and he called me mama,\u201d she also added.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/strong><\/h2>\n<div>\n<p><strong>California Post News<\/strong>: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn<br \/><strong>California Post Sports<\/strong> Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X<br \/><strong>California Post  <\/strong>Opinion <br \/><strong>California Post Newsletters<\/strong>: Sign up here!<br \/><strong>California Post App<\/strong>: Download here!<br \/><strong>Home delivery<\/strong>: Sign up here!<br \/><strong>Page Six Hollywood<\/strong>: Sign up here!<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5145\">Joe Rogan reveals former podcast guest allegedly \u2018cut a guy\u2019s head off\u2019 weeks after interviewing him<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>On Monday, a motorcade carrying Marsh\u2019s body traveled through Northwest Arkansas as members of the community lined the route to pay tribute to the fallen officer.<\/p>\n<p>Funeral arrangements are being handled by Marsh\u2019s family, who expect a large turnout of officers, former classmates and childhood friends from across the state, according to Padgett.<\/p>\n<p>Marsh graduated from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in April and was serving his first year with the RPD.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He also played college baseball at Eccelsia College, where one of his teammates described him as a \u201cGod-fearing man\u201d and a teammate that was \u201cthere for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A GoFundMe has been created by Hailey\u2019s sister to support her through the loss of her fianc\u00e9. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDue to this sudden loss, it has left Hailey in overwhelming need. With a new lease, bills, and more unforseen expenses, it is now left all on her shoulders,\u201d the sister wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5143\">Mamdani faces lawsuit over \u2018unlawful\u2019 NYC rent freeze \u2014 as landlords rip \u2018abuse of power\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 24-year-old police officer from Arkansas proposed to his girlfriend just hours before he died while trying to save her from drowning in a river on Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Selfless cop proposed to girlfriend just hours before sacrificing his life to save her from raging river - 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