Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff Jim Meeks suffered a fatal heart attack after rescuing inner tube raft floaters who were stuck under the Laurel Highway Bridge on the Yellowstone River in Laurel.
During the Yellowstone River Boat Float around 2:15 p.m., Sheriff Meeks was notified that two floaters, who were not wearing life vests, were stuck in logs and branches under the bridge. Sheriff Meeks and two other rescue personnel maneuvered the rescue boat upstream to their location. Once they were close by, they used pocket knives to untangle the raft from the river brush. Once the rafters put on life vests, they were pulled out and towed back to shore. When the boat reached land, Sheriff Meeks collapsed. He was transported to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
Sheriff Meeks was a United States Navy World War II and Korean War veteran who had served with the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office for nine years. He had served as sheriff for a year and a half.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, son, and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-MT-1F045565- 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 Meeks gave the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office 9 years.
Thank you for your service to the Billings community. Thank you 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
James Arthur Meeks served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Sheriff James Arthur Meeks is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In MT, 4 of 142 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 2.8% of this state's fallen. That is 6.3 percentage points below the national rate of 9.1%.
At Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, 1 of 6 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 16.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Arthur Meeks's cause is highlighted.
How James Arthur Meeks Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. James Arthur Meeks is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
5 officers from Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
