A death in the line of duty is never easy, but it is hard to overstate the loss being felt in Somervell County.
Detective Sergeant Stephen Gibson was born and raised there, married his high school sweetheart Stephanie, and joined the Somervell County Sheriff's Office 26 years ago. He died last week in a car accident.
It’s the first line of duty death ever for the department.
“Wednesday morning's calls still doesn't seem real to us,” said Somervell County Sheriff Alan West. “We've lost a family member, we've lost a brother in blue, we've lost a community member that's made impacts with many, many people.”
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Gibson was described as the go-to guy who could do it all.
“Everything he did, he had the warrior mentality, mindset,” said longtime friend and colleague Sgt. Shane Tipton.
Like the time Gibson wrangled an alligator or helped pull a game warden from the Paluxy River in 2007 when the boat the game warden was in flipped over.
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“I owe my life to Stephen, there's no doubt of it. I wouldn't be here today,” said former Texas Game Warden Danny Tuggle.
Gibson was driving north on Highway 144 toward Glen Rose last Wednesday morning when Sheriff West says another driver lost control on the wet road and collided head-on with Gibson's vehicle.
“Then we get the worst case," West paused, "The worst case ending that none of us are prepared for."
Gibson died at the scene.
“Kind of like seeing Superman not there anymore and that was tough because he was Superman to a lot of people here,” Tipton said, tearfully.
Gibson sketched a portrait hanging in the lobby of the sheriff's office. It's of Game Warden Teyran "Ty" Patterson who died the day Tuggle was rescued 16 years ago.
“I also lost my partner in 2007, he drowned that day and now Stephen's gone. This is one of the hardest things in the world to lose a hero,” said Tuggle.
“We've got an angel over us. We've got wings flying with us and somebody's got our back,” said West.
DPS is investigating the crash. No charges have been filed.
Gibson leaves behind his wife, two kids and grandchildren.
His funeral will be held December 29 at 11 a.m. in the Glen Rose High School auditorium.