Medal Recipient Search
Frederick Guthrie, Missouri State Water Patrol
2007 Class
Awarded on: 08/28/2008
Medal of Valor
On June 22, 2007, Officer Guthrie was investigating reports of capsized or swamped boats during his patrol on Smithville Lake during a severe thunderstorm. The lake had waves as high as six feet, creating conditions that were much too dangerous for Officer Guthrie’s standard patrol boat, forcing him to return to the marina. Before Officer Guthrie was able to reach the marina, he learned that a woman without a life jacket had been thrown from her boat and was clinging to a buoy in the lake. Risking his own personal safety, Officer Guthrie returned to the dangerous conditions on the lake and was able to rescue the woman from the water.