Employee of the Month

October 2018 Employee of the Month

Missouri State Highway Patrol

Jonathan T. Wilson and Shayne K. Talburt, corporals with the Department of Public Safety's Missouri State Highway Patrol — Troop E, have been selected as the department's October 2018 Employees of the Month.

On May 26, 2018, both officers were patrolling the Current River in Ripley County. Jonathan observed a family in distress in the water.Their inner tubes, which had been linked together, had come loose and flipped over. All seven people – two adults and five children – were thrown into the water.

A five-year-old girl was tangled in a rope and appeared lifeless. The man was in distress after extricating a second child from a tangled root ball, which then broke loose, separating him from the children.The current had pulled the woman downstream, away from the group, and she was exhausted and in distress.

Jonathan began rescuing the children and called Shayne for assistance. When Jonathan retrieved the five-year-old, she immediately coughed up water and began breathing on her own. Meanwhile, because of the weight and current, his boat was taking on water.

Upon his arrival, Shayne took the five children into his boat, allowing Jonathan to travel downstream to rescue the two adults. The woman and her five-year-old daughter were treated at a local hospital. The mother is convinced the officers’ actions saved several lives.