George R. Carey
Agency patch
Pilot Officer

George R. Carey

California Highway Patrol — Sacramento, CA
Accident
End of Watch February 24, 1982
Age 47
Tour of Duty 17 yrs
Badge 4044
The Vigil Panel 125 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Pilot Officer Carey and Officer Kenneth Archer were killed when their helicopter crashed during a search mission in the Harper Lake area west of Barstow. The officers were conducting a search mission in a remote desert area of San Bernardino County. Pilot Officer Carey became spatially disoriented due to a combination of factors and the aircraft impacted the ground at high speed, instantly killing both officers. Officer Carey had served with the California Highway Patrol for 17 years.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-CA-70AC6BEF
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.
Pilot Officer Carey gave the California Highway Patrol 17 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of California. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Pilot Officer Carey.

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

Agency

Location Sacramento, CA
Platform Identity chp.ca.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch February 24, 1982
Tour of Duty 17 yrs
Age 47
Badge Number 4044
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Pilot Officer George R. Carey 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 CA, 719 of 1,837 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 39.1% of this state's fallen. That is 8.1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At California Highway Patrol, 151 of 233 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 64.8% of this agency's fallen.

California Highway Patrol
151
of 233 officers
64.8% Accident
CA — Statewide
719
of 1,837 officers
39.1% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. George R. Carey's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How George R. Carey Compares

Age at End of Watch
47
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
17
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. George R. Carey is highlighted in Feb.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location