Roll of Honor
Karl Eugene Kelley
Incident
First Sergeant Karl Kelley died from injuries suffered the day before during a training exercise at the Williams Dam on the East Fork White River in Lawrence County. A boat containing two other conservation officers had overturned in turbulent waters. When Sergeant Kelley and another conservation officer attempted a rescue, their boat capsized as well. First Sergeant Kelley was rescued after being submerged for 15 minutes. He survived for 24 hours before succumbing to his injuries at University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Sergeant Kelley had served with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for 28 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, two daughters, son, two stepsons, parents, brother, sister, four grandchildren, and two stepgrandchildren.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-IN-34843C01- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
28 years. You could have gone home.
First Sergeant Kelley gave the Indiana Department of Natural Resources 28 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the Indianapolis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, First Sergeant Kelley.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
First Sergeant Karl Eugene Kelley is one of 10,094 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,586 officers honored here.
In IN, 152 of 504 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.2% of this state's fallen. That is 0.8 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At Indiana Department of Natural Resources, 6 of 7 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 85.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Karl Eugene Kelley's cause is highlighted.
How Karl Eugene Kelley Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Karl Eugene Kelley is highlighted in Apr.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
6 officers from Indiana Department of Natural Resources are honored on badge.nw.
