A16
OFF PAGE ONE
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Under drizzly skies, a funeral procession made up primarily
of police vehicles makes its way through Enterprise toward
the Cloverleaf Hall for a celebration of the life of Oregon State
Police Sgt. Marcus McDowell on Monday, April 4, 2022.
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Oregon State Police offi cers load the casket of Sgt. Marcus McDowell into a hearse outside Loveland Funeral Chapel, La Grande,
on Monday, April 4, 2022.
McDowell:
Continued from Page A1
in the community. Back
when we were doing inter-
diction and stuff on the free-
way, he was so good at his
job. He has some incredible
seizures of all kinds of diff er-
ent things.”
Patrol Trooper Kainoa
Delatori, who worked with
McDowell the entirety of
his six-year OSP career,
and even prior during a stint
with La Grande Police, said
McDowell was the “resident
expert” when it came to drug
interdiction work, and some-
one he would consult often.
“We talk on a daily basis,”
Delatori said. “I would pick
his brain when it came to
work on (interdiction) stuff .
We got pretty close the last
couple years.”
Delatori also commented
on McDowell’s impeccable
work ethic, and called him
a man with whom you knew
where you standed.
“That’s one of the things I
respect most out of Marcus,”
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Oregon State Police troopers change the guard Monday,
April 4, 2022, around the fl ag-draped casket of Sgt. Marcus
McDowell prior to a celebration of life for him at the Cloverleaf
Hall in Enterprise.
Delatori said of McDowell’s
work. “After that long, a lot
of people get burned out or
they fade off . (But) he had
the most stops in the offi ce
month in and month out.
One thing I really looked up
to him (for) is his work ethic.
He would actually put in the
work.”
Hove described McDow-
ell as the person called on
when an extra hand was
needed on a scene. He said
he was always available,
whether early in the morning
or late in the evening.
“He’s the guy who would
always be at work, always
be there,” he said. “He was
the guy you called. … Say
you’re working a case, what-
ever the case may be, Mar-
cus would always stop by
and see if you needed any
help.”
Delatori, who was one of
the OSP troopers to respond
to the scene in Joseph, called
the loss of his friend a shock.
“It’s something that I pray
in the next 20 years of my
career I never have to deal
with again,” he said.
Conner said in losing
McDowell, the OSP is losing
an “upstanding individual.”
“We’re losing a great
friend, employee, a supervi-
sor, just a mentor in general
to others, a leader — Mar-
cus is all of those things,”
he said. “More importantly,
he’s just a friend. It’s taking
a devastating toll on all of us
that have worked with him
over the years. It’s hard to
deal with. It’s very diffi cult
to deal with a loss.”
Hove described him as
the one you wanted out
working the job.
“He was always doing
good,” he said. “All these
guys do good, but Marcus
was exceptional.”
And for Delatori, the loss
of a driven friend is only
going to push him.
“I think it’s going to make
me work harder now,” he
said. “I think that is what he
would have wanted.”
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain
A procession featuring dozens of law enforcement vehicles
leaves La Grande Monday morning, April 4, 2022, to escort the
body of Sgt. Marcus McDowell to Enterprise for a memorial
service to be held later in the day. McDowell died March 29.
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
A pair of Oregon State Police offi cers share an embrace after
the funeral service for Sgt. Marcus McDowell at Loveland
Funeral Chapel, La Grande, on Monday, April 4, 2022.
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