Roll of Honor
Incident
Deputy Sheriff Melissa Powers was killed in a single-vehicle automobile crash on U.S. 1 at approximately 10:30 pm.
While she was en route to locate another deputy who could not be reached by dispatchers, she swerved to avoid another car that pulled in front of her and lost control of the police cruiser on the slick roads. Her vehicle spun and hit a parked tractor-trailer leaving her pinned inside. She was transported to a local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries a short time later. It is believed that the deputy she was attempting to locate had switched his radio to another frequency, causing him to be temporarily unreachable.
Deputy Powers had served with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office for almost four years.
Survivors
She is survived by her husband, daughter, stepson, and parents.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FL-B3596079- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Deputy Sheriff Powers gave the Monroe County Sheriff's Office 3 years.
Thank you for your service to the Key West community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Powers.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Deputy Sheriff Melissa J. Powers is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In FL, 313 of 1,008 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.1% of this state's fallen. That is 0.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Monroe County Sheriff's Office, 5 of 6 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 83.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Melissa J. Powers's cause is highlighted.
How Melissa J. Powers Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Melissa J. Powers is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from Monroe County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
