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Myron Downey
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Myron Downey

Missouri State Highway Patrol — Jefferson City, MO
Suicide Honored
United States flag Missouri flag
End of Watch September 29, 2020
Age 44
The Vigil Panel 383 · Column 2 · Line 4 ›
Gender Male
Incident Media Service The Sacrifice Department 32

Biography

Trooper Myron Downey joined the Missouri State Highway Patrol in 1998 and served until his medical retirement in February 2019. Myron enjoyed working with the public, especially during his hometown’s annual Shop with a Hero event and each year with his colleagues at the Missouri State Fair. He was known as the officer with a firm hand and a kind word. Myron often told people that his family was made up of the people that he chose, including his close friends that he often referred to as “brothers”, “sisters”, and “mother”, and his childhood sweetheart that he would marry late in life, Debra. Even so, his favorite person was his one living blood relative, his beloved son Mason. Myron often reminded people that his greatest accomplishment on this earth was his son, closely followed by the family that he had created. Early in 2018, Myron began to suffer from the physical stress of his job. He developed psoriatic arthritis and began having stress-induced seizures, forcing him to resign from his career in law enforcement. He would eventually be diagnosed with cumulative post-traumatic stress disorder. Myron began to attend treatment for his PTSD, but his frustration overwhelmed his patience, and he soon self-medicated his ailments with alcohol. On September 29, 2020, Myron’s struggles ended when he took his life, but his family’s battle against law enforcement trauma only began. His devotion to the public and his blue family is carried on in his legacy.

In Our Keeping

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August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

Officer Myron Downey served with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Thank you for your service. We will always remember your sacrifice.
You belong on this wall. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Missouri State Highway Patrol
Type Highway Patrol
Location Jefferson City, MO
Platform Identity mshp.mo.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch September 29, 2020
Age 44
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Suicide

The Sacrifice · Suicide

Myron is one of 190 officers lost to suicide in the United States, 0.7% of the 27,552 remembered there.

34,103 officers are remembered on this memorial. Each number below is one of them.

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Compare against
I

Time

In 2020, 21 officers in the United States were lost to suicide, the 2nd heaviest of 31 years on record. The heaviest was 2019, with 25.

Every year on record · United States
II

Who

Myron was 44. Of the 146 lost to suicide in the United States whose age is recorded, half were between 36 and 50; the middle age was 43.

Age at death
Where he stood among them
Age by years of service
III

When

September holds 6.8% of these deaths in the United States; June holds the most, 12.6%. Tuesdays: 16.8%.

By month
By day of the week
IV

How

Suicide deaths account for 0.7% of all 27,552 deaths in the United States, the 5th most common cause.

Every cause
Weapons recorded
V

His people

Missouri State Highway Patrol has 33 officers remembered here, Myron among them.

Across the years

Myron Downey

Missouri State Highway Patrol · End of Watch September 29, 2020

Where the Name Is Cut

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