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CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — The signs are up.
Drivers on State Route 56 in western Pickaway County now pass the name of Detective Rex Emrick, the longtime Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office detective who died in the line of duty in 2021. The brown memorial signs went up earlier this month, and they mark the stretch of Route 56 between State Route 316 at Five Points and the Madison County line as the Detective Rex Emrick Memorial Highway.
The designation came through House Bill 37, sponsored by state Rep. Brian Stewart of Ashville. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill in August at a ceremony attended by Sheriff Matthew O. Hafey, Chief Deputy James Brown Jr., Major Johnathan Strawser, and Emrick’s wife, Becky. The Ohio Department of Transportation installed the signs this month, and members of Emrick’s family were there to see them first.
Emrick’s career in law enforcement ran nearly 47 years. He started with the Mount Sterling Police Department in April 1974 and joined the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy in 1976. He moved to the detective bureau in March 1994 and stayed there the rest of his career, working major cases including homicides and child sexual abuse investigations. He served under three sheriffs: Dwight E. Radcliff, Robert B. Radcliff, and Hafey.
His awards over the years included the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association Commendation Award, the Ohio Department of Public Safety Law Enforcement Excellence Award, Ohio Auto Theft Investigator of the Year, Central Ohio Crime Stoppers Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, and the VFW Post 331 Circleville Officer of the Year award in 2001.
Emrick died on January 26, 2021, of complications from COVID-19. He was five weeks short of his 70th birthday.
Now his name stands over the highway he spent a career protecting, where it will greet drivers crossing Pickaway County for years to come.
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