Roll of Honor
Incident
Patrol Officer David Childs and Trooper James McNeely, of the Kentucky State Police, drowned when their boat went over Dam 4 on the Kentucky River.
The officers were searching for two missing juveniles when the accident occurred.
Officer Childs had served with the Kentucky Water Patrol for five years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-KY-CBF764AA- 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.
Patrol Officer Childs gave the Kentucky Water Patrol 5 years.
Thank you for your service to the Frankfort community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Patrol Officer Childs.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Patrol Officer David T. Childs 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 KY, 161 of 983 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 16.4% of this state's fallen. That is 14.6 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. David T. Childs's cause is highlighted.
How David T. Childs Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. David T. Childs is highlighted in Apr.