Mississippi conservation officer wins SEAFWA Wildlife Officer of the Year award

HILTON HEAD, S.C. (WCBI) – A Houlka native was named 2019’s SEAFWA Wildlife Officer of the Year.

Corporal Cole Edwards, a conservation officer with Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, was given the Bob Brantley Wildlife Officer of the Year award this week at their annual meeting in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Corporal Edwards is a conservation officer in Bolivar County. He has been with MDWFP since 2015.

Edwards’ reputation for taking initiative and building sold cases is well-known within the Department, but it is his response to an emergency call at the end of his shift on December 15, 2018, that best illustrates his dedication to public service.

On that day, Edwards, assisted by trainee Private Ryan Watson, navigated a patrol boat through floodwaters on the Mississippi River to rescue a man stranded 200 yards from shore. After helping the subject into the boat, Edwards gave him the clothes off his back. During a follow-up investigation, officials with the Bolivar Medical Center in Cleveland, Mississippi said the subject would have died from hypothermia within the hour if the officers had not arrived in time.

Edwards also participates in public outreach for the department. Throughout the year, he volunteers to educate residents about game and fish laws, hunter safety, boater education and career opportunities in conservation.

The Association’s Wildlife Officer of the Year Award is determined by nominations submitted to the head of law enforcement from the SEAFWA states and territories. In addition to direct law enforcement, an officer is selected based on community service, outreach and education, interdepartmental cooperation and innovations that may be utilized by other officers and departments.