Roll of Honor
Incident
Police Officer William Sheahan drowned after he accidentally fell into the Mississippi River, at the foot of Madison Street, at approximately 8:30 pm.
He had been assigned to prevent accidents and keep the peace for passengers on excursion boats leaving the wharf. As the steamer City of Vicksburg was preparing to pull out Officer Sheahan stepped back and fell into the river's swift current. He was pulled underneath the boat and drowned despite several attempts to rescue him.
His body was recovered two days later near the foot of Tyler Street.
Officer Sheahan was survived by his wife and four children.
Survivors
Officer Sheahan was survived by his wife and four children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MO-FCCCF5A8- 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.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew William. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
131 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Police Officer Sheahan served with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Thank you for your service to the St. Louis community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Police Officer William Sheahan 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 MO, 237 of 813 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 29.2% of this state's fallen. That is 1.8 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.
At St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, 56 of 176 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 31.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Sheahan's cause is highlighted.
How William Sheahan Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. William Sheahan is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
175 officers from St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
