Rogers, Arkansas / Missouri — A young Arkansas police officer proposed to the love of his life just hours before making the ultimate sacrifice, drowning while trying to save her from a powerful river current.

Officer Fred Marsh, 24, of the Rogers Police Department, asked his girlfriend Hailey to marry him early Saturday morning. The couple then headed out canoeing with friends on Missouri’s Elk River.

Later that day, Hailey entered the water and began struggling against the strong current. Marsh and a fellow Rogers police officer immediately jumped in and managed to pull her to safety. In a tragic turn, Marsh was swept away by the fast-moving water and never resurfaced.

“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, said. She described Marsh as a selfless man who “gave his life helping someone else.”

The couple had been together for three years. Marsh was in his first year with the Rogers Police Department after graduating from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in April. He was remembered by friends and teammates as a “God-fearing man” who was always there for others.

A motorcade carrying Marsh’s body traveled through Northwest Arkansas as community members lined the route to honor the fallen officer. A GoFundMe has been set up by Hailey’s sister to support her through the sudden loss.

This heartbreaking story highlights the courage and selflessness of Officer Marsh, who put his fiancée’s life before his own on what should have been one of the happiest days of their lives.

Sources:

• New York Post