Honoring a fallen Webb City officer, 120 years later

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Honoring a life lost in the line of duty, 120 years after the fact.

“Lived here all my life and never knew the story,” said Travis Boyd, Mt. Hope Cemetery.

But that all changed this year for the Webb City native.

“It’s special to honor fallen officers, it’s never been recognized,” said Boyd.

He’s talking about Town Marshal Leonard Rich. He passed away in 1902, killed while trying to break up a bar fight in downtown Webb City.

“It started with the Jasper County Law Enforcement memorial service. We didn’t have a picture for him at that, and his gravestone was not marked. I had been working on it and on trying to find a picture to find a way to memorialize his service out here,” said Don Melton, WCPD Chief.

It’s a memorial that’s now in place at this Webb City cemetery. The story about Rich got a boost on Action 12 News.

“When the newscast ran that night, I immediately got two phone calls. One from members of the Elks and also from Quality Memorials, who I do a lot of work with. They asked me what we can do to help this family, and the Webb City Police Department. We jumped right on it and had a game plan the next day,” said Boyd

A joint effort of the Webb City Elks Lodge, Mt. Hope Cemetery, and Quality Memorials, to donate a memorial stone, making sure the ultimate sacrifice doesn’t go unnoticed.

“He was almost just gone and forgotten before this memorial began to be planned, so thankful for that. And the timing is just perfect I think because we hear too much in the news about the ‘Defund the Police,’ the police not feeling support, hard to recruit and etc. But our police are highly respected,” said Lynn Ragsdale, WC Mayor.

Starting with this marker, showing that even 120 years later, Webb City still remembers.

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