Joseph Omlin, III
Agency patch
Deputy Sheriff

Joseph Omlin, III

Curry County Sheriff's Office — Gold Beach, OR
Accident
End of Watch July 11, 1983
Age 36
The Vigil Panel 127 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Deputy Joseph Omlin and Trooper Donald Smith of the Oregon State Police were killed in an aircraft accident while on a marijuana observation flight in a remote wilderness area in southern Oregon.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-OR-64C1D5BA
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.
Deputy Sheriff Omlin served with the Curry County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Gold Beach community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Sheriff Omlin.

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

Agency

Location Gold Beach, OR
Platform Identity ccso.curry.or.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch July 11, 1983
Age 36
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Deputy Sheriff Joseph Omlin, III 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 OR, 66 of 197 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 33.5% of this state's fallen. That is 2.5 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.

At Curry County Sheriff's Office, 2 of 3 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 66.7% of this agency's fallen.

Curry County Sheriff's Office
2
of 3 officers
66.7% Accident
OR — Statewide
66
of 197 officers
33.5% 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. Joseph Omlin, III'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 Joseph Omlin, III Compares

Age at End of Watch
36
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Joseph Omlin, III is highlighted in Jul.

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

Others Who Wore This Badge

2 officers from Curry County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.