Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff Melvin Roof suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after arresting two auto theft suspects. He was transported to the Putnam County Hospital where he was unable to be resuscitated. Sheriff Roof was a United States Army WWII veteran. He had served with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office for nine years and as Sheriff for five years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and two sons.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-3F6B0920- 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 served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Sheriff Roof gave the Putnam County Sheriff's Office 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Unionville community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Melvin Roof served in the Army (1944â1946) before joining law enforcement.
Sheriff Melvin Roof is one of 1,306 officers lost to cardiac events in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 4% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In MO, 32 of 813 officers were lost to cardiac events in the line of duty — 3.9% of this state's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Cardiac compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Melvin Roof's cause is highlighted.
How Melvin Roof Compares
When Cardiac Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Cardiac deaths across the full memorial record. Melvin Roof is highlighted in Oct.