Officer Rank: Sheriff
Department: Yellowstone County, Montana, S.O.
End of Watch: 07/09/1972
Cause: Physical related incident
Age: 54
Length of Service: 8
Sheriff Meeks was attending the annual Yellowstone River Float with his family when he came upon his deputies stationed along the riverbank. Sheriff Meeks boarded the Rescue Unit patrol boat and joined his deputies in conducting the safety operation along the river. Sheriff Meeks worked to untangle a line in the patrol boat, and then he and his deputies responded to a distress call concerning a raft trailing an inner tube that was entangled in the brush. Sheriff Meeks gave the two boaters a knife to cut the raft free and then he towed the raft in. When they arrived at the shore, Sheriff Meeks collapsed. Sheriff Meeks was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased due to a heart attack.
