DPS Employees of the Month
October Sworn Employee of the Month
Esteban M. Reynoso
Trooper
Missouri State Highway Patrol
October Non-Sworn Employee of the Month
Darrin Wray
Training Site Facilities Supervisor
Missouri National Guard
Esteban M. Reynoso, a trooper in the Highway Patrol’s Troop C, is the October 2020 DPS Sworn Employee of the Month for his investigative initiative that led to the rescue of a child abuse victim and criminal charges.
On May 2, Esteban responded to a call for a pedestrian in a road at the end of his midnight shift. In a remote area near the St. Charles – Warren County line he found a 12-year-old boy was walking along the road. As Esteban spoke with the boy, he noted inconsistencies in his story. He noticed the boy had several bruises and asked if the boy had been abused. He denied it.
But Esteban had recently received training in the Patrol’s Interdiction for the Protection of Children program, which teaches Patrol members to identify signs of potential abuse and to establish a rapport with victims, who are often reluctant to report abuse out of fear.
Utilizing his Patrol IPC training, Esteban worked to build trust with the youngster. The boy eventually opened up and began to share that his father and stepmother physically abused him. He had allegedly escaped only because his parents have forgotten to handcuff him to his bed that day. When Esteban found him, the juvenile was malnourished and weighed just 76 pounds, about 45 pounds less than he had weighed four months earlier. The boy received medical treatment for malnourishment.
The case was turned over to local law enforcement, which arrested the boy’s parents for felony child abuse. Additional charges were issued against the father, including for kidnapping.
At the end of a midnight shift, Esteban could have simply listened to the victim’s initial story and taken the child back to his parents. Instead, Esteban took a genuine interest in the child’s welfare, established a rapport with him, got to the truth, and helped give the child a chance at a better life.
Darrin E. Ray of the Missouri National Guard’s Macon training site, is the DPS October 2020 Non-Sworn Employee of the Month.
Darrin has been part of the Missouri National Guard – in uniform and as a civilian – and the Macon Training Site since the Guard acquired it in 1988. He became Macon Training Site Facilities Supervisor in 2017.
He’s being honored for his attention to detail and outstanding coordination as he has overseen numerous complex projects at the site, including a Special Reaction Team course, a Bivouac site, installation of an ES 2000 weapons simulator, a year-round potable water point, pistol and 5.56 25-meter ranges, Humvee driving courses, and initial construction of a new company headquarters building.
While in uniform from 1988 to 2000, Darrin served in Delta Co., 1138th Engineer Battalion and Alpha Company, 110th Combat Engineer Battalion at Macon.
In his role as supervisor, he is responsible for daily activities and oversight of purchasing and procurement, resolving conflicts, training, and supervising the staff. In addition, he has responsibility for setting work schedules and estimating costs for projects performed by his staff.
Darrin also troubleshoots maintenance repairs and contracts for repairs on buildings, ranges, equipment, roads and grounds, and plans projects and oversees the completion of projects onsite. He also serves as the training site’s environmental coordinator.
The Missouri Department of Public Safety. Many Missions. One Team.