A Lebanon police officer returning home to DeKalb County after working the night shift lost his life Thursday morning when his truck ran off Highway 70 and into rain-swollen Dry Creek near Dowelltown.
The body of the officer, Joseph Bowen, 28, was recovered several hundred feet downstream from where his Chevy Silverado came to rest on its side in the middle of the fast-moving torrent, one side of the truck barely visible above the surface. Investigators believe Bowen ran off the road, just missing a guard rail that would have kept him from running into the creek, and then struck a tree before plummeting over an embankment and into the swift water.
The truck was found after a search was instigated for Bowen when he did not return home as expected. Searchers learned that his cellphone was last pinged around 7:29 a.m. on Highway 70 near Goose Creek Road. A highway patrol helicopter aided in the search and the truck was spotted in the river just after noon.
A small army of searchers were involved in hunt for the missing officer. They included members of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue, DeKalb Emergency Management Agency, DeKalb EMS, Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad, TWRA, Alexandria Police and Fire Departments, Smithville Police officers, Tennessee Division of Forestry, Putnam County Swift Water Rescue, Lebanon Police and Wilson County Sheriff’s Department, and several concerned citizens who volunteered to help. The THP assisted with a ground and aerial search and the THP Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) investigated the crash along with Trooper Bobby Johnson.
The loss is an especially hard one here as prior to taking a job in Lebanon, Bowen had worked for the sheriff’s department here.
“Joe Bowen and his family have been true servants to this county. Joe’s wife, Kim, is a 911 dispatcher for DeKalb County,” Sheriff Patrick Ray revealed. “His father, Dewayne, was a former deputy in DeKalb County before leaving to go to the Lebanon Police Department. Joe has served as a volunteer fireman for DeKalb County. He started his career in law enforcement working for my department as a correctional officer. I then promoted him to a deputy position where he worked in that capacity until he left my department to go to the Lebanon Police Department. Joe was much more than an employee to me. He was a true friend. His personal life and work ethics were a true example of what every officer should be like. My department, along with other emergency agencies in the county, mourn his loss and will provide his family for whatever support they need.”
