Son of Marion police officer remembered as hero after risking life to save friend

POINSETT, Ark. (WMC) - A Marion Police officer and his family are grieving the loss of his 17-year-old son Aaron Dexter.

Dexter drowned in a river near Rivervale, Arkansas in Poinsett County while saving the life of a friend.

According to Officer Dexter, the father of the young hero, his son Aaron and two friends went swimming in a river near Highway 135 Wednesday.

A girl Aaron was with decided to jump off a bridge into the water and went under.

When Aaron noticed his friend was caught in a strong current, he jumped off the bridge to save her and bring her back to the riverbank.

Both grabbed a tree branch for safety. His father said Aaron’s branch snapped and the current pulled him away.

“We wanted to make it clear that Aaron, sacrificed his life to save her life, and he deserves to be held as a hero and his bravery and his selflessness. It’s not something that everybody or anybody would’ve done,” said John Dexter.

According to the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Office, several Arkansas rescue and first responder crews searched for Aaron for over 5 hours... before finding his body far downriver from where he went in.

The family says their life has been unimaginably changed forever. Friday, the family plans to begin his funeral arrangement process.

Marion Police Department says anyone wishing to make donations to the family, they may donate at the Marion Police Department or at any Southern Bancorp location under Aaron Dexter Memorial Fund. There is also a GoFundMe set up for the Dexter family.

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