Fred Marsh asked Hailey Lummus to marry him on a Saturday morning in July. She said yes. Hours later, he was gone.
Fred Marsh, 24, drowned after becoming trapped in a strong river current while helping his fiancée reach safety during a canoeing trip near the Arkansas and Missouri border. The woman he saved was the woman he had just asked to spend his life with.
Marsh was a first-year officer with the Rogers Police Department in Northwest Arkansas. His family and department are left with the knowledge that in his last conscious moments, Fred Marsh did not hesitate. He saw someone he loved in danger, and he went in.
The Morning of July 19
Officer Fred Marsh proposed to his girlfriend, Hailey, on Saturday morning, and hours later the couple joined friends for a canoeing trip on Missouri’s Elk River. “He proposed to my daughter on the day he passed away, early that morning, and he made her his fiancée,” Hailey’s mother, Sheryl Padgett, told ABC affiliate KHBS.
The pair, who had been together for three years, were out canoeing with another couple on the river near Noel, Missouri. The location sits close to the Arkansas state line, a popular stretch of river that regularly attracts paddlers during the summer months.
Padgett, speaking to KHBS, said her daughter had entered the river while attempting to return to a kayak and began struggling in the fast-moving water. A fellow Rogers police officer, who had been on the outing with his wife, rushed to help. Marsh followed when he realized his fiancée was in danger.
What Happened on the Elk River
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the drowning occurred on the river near Easy Street in Noel, Missouri, at around 5:40 p.m.
Marsh, along with the other Rogers police officer who was present, successfully pushed Lummus to safety. But after ensuring she reached the canoe, Marsh became distressed and exhausted in the swift current and did not resurface. Despite frantic efforts by those with him and other people on the river, he disappeared beneath the surface.
A dive team later recovered his body from the Elk River. McDonald County Coroner Jonathan Fletcher pronounced Marsh dead at 10:08 a.m. Sunday at the scene.
Hailey was pushed to safety first. Marsh made sure of that before the current took him. “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.”
Who Fred Marsh Was
Marsh had graduated from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy on April 9, 2026, and was still in his first year with the Rogers Police Department. Marsh was a graduate of Rison High School, where he had participated in the EAST program. He also played college baseball at Ecclesia College.
Padgett said Marsh was loving, hardworking, and guided by his Christian faith, emphasizing that he never hesitated when someone needed help.
His cousin, Chris Frye, spoke to KNWA in the days after the tragedy. “As tragic as this is, he died the hero,” Frye said. “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.”
Padgett told the station: “They 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.” Padgett had lost her own son previously, and by her account, Marsh had filled a space in the family that no one expected to find filled.
The Department’s Response
Rogers Police Chief Jonathan Best said in a statement: “This is a heartbreaking loss for our department. Officer Marsh had a bright future ahead of him and had already made a positive impact on those who had the privilege of serving alongside him.”
The Rogers Police Department welcomed the public to line the route where Marsh’s body was transported through the city on Monday afternoon. A motorcade carrying his body traveled from Anderson, Missouri, to Pine Bluff, with the department announcing an expected passage through Rogers between 4:15 and 4:45 p.m. The procession reached the Rogers area shortly before 5:00 p.m. It entered the city traveling south on Interstate 49, took Exit 83 onto New Hope Road, traveled east before turning south onto Dixieland Road, passing in front of Rogers High School, before heading back toward Pine Bluff.
People lined the route. Officers came from neighboring departments. Families stood on highway overpasses. An American flag flew between the raised ladders of two fire trucks parked outside the Rogers Police Department as the motorcade passed. One man saluted until the final vehicle rounded the corner.
A Community Carrying the Weight
In the days following the tragedy, Hailey Lummus’ sister, Kourtlin Ricketts, launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the family meet expenses. “Fred was an upstanding young man, son, fiancé, officer, brother, friend and more to all,” she wrote. “We are devastated and will miss him dearly.”
Funeral arrangements were handled by Marsh’s family, who expected a large turnout of officers, former classmates, and childhood friends from across the state.
Sheryl Padgett said something in the days after losing Fred Marsh that carries more weight than most of the things said publicly in grief. She described him as someone for whom helping was not a decision. “He was loving, hardworking and guided by his Christian faith,” Padgett said. “There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for anyone.”
Hailey Lummus lost her fiancé on the day she got engaged. The Rogers Police Department lost an officer who had barely begun. A family lost the young man who had, without ceremony, become one of their own. He made sure Hailey was safe first, and he ran out of river after that.
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AI Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by a human editor.