New sign memorializes Nassau Deputy Joshua Moyers where he was fatally shot 1 year ago
The sign stands on Sandy Ford Road just outside Callahan, a thin blue line underlining the name of Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers, fatally shot near this spot during a traffic stop on Sept. 23, 2021.
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper unveiled it Monday, exactly one year from when the young deputy died from those gunshot wounds.
Erected between U.S. 301 and the railroad tracks where the fatal encounter occurred, Leeper said the sign will help everyone "always remember Josh" as they pass. He was joined at the unveiling by the late deputy's parents, Brenda and Tim Moyers, their son Jordan and Moyers' fiancee, Ivy Carter.
Deputy dies after Callahan shooting: Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers succumbs to gunshot wounds from traffic stop
Laid to rest: Funeral for Nassau County Sheriff's Deputy Joshua Moyers
"This ceremony was short and sweet, just something we wanted to do in honor of Josh," Leeper said. "... Always remember that on this day, Josh Moyers sacrificed his life for our community."
Moyers, 29, went to Hilliard Middle-Senior High School, then received a bachelor's degree in public safety management at Florida State College at Jacksonville. He started as a deputy in 2015 and was to marry Carter before he died, Leeper said.
What happened that day and soon after
Shortly before midnight on that early September day just over a year ago, Moyers stopped a minivan on Sandy Ford Road by the railroad tracks. The driver, next to a female passenger, did not have a license and gave Moyers a false name, Leeper said. Moyers asked the driver if he had any weapons and to get out of the vehicle as a train was approaching nearby.
Florida community mourns Joshua Moyers: Search continues for Nassau County deputy's killer
Manhunt ends: Suspect in the shooting death of Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers caught near Callahan
The driver shot Moyers under his right eye, then again in his back before fleeing just before the railroad crossing arms came down, the sheriff said. A second deputy found Moyers on the ground, while the abandoned minivan, later determined to have been stolen, and the passenger were pursued in a wooded area nearby.
Moyers died at UF Health in Jacksonville on Sept. 26, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
After a five-day manhunt, 36-year-old Patrick Rene McDowell of Jacksonville was arrested. No trial date is set yet.
'Josh would have wanted that'
After Monday's unveiling, Leeper said Moyers was a great deputy, a fun man to know and really loved serving where he grew up.
"His death affected our agency as you can imagine quite a bit, and it affected our entire community," Leeper said. "It is good to see the community come together as one in law enforcement and work together to make our community a better place. Josh would have wanted that."
The memorial for Moyers was the idea of neighbor Kathy Carter, who lives on Sandy Ford Road and met Leeper at a community meeting a few months ago, he said. The sign includes Moyers' name on both sides so people see it coming and going out of that neighborhood, Leeper said.
"She [Carter] passes this way every day, and the residents who live down here pass this way and they think about Josh all the time," Leeper said. "We started talking and thinking about what we could do and thought about maybe doing a sign. ... That is why we are here today."
The late deputy's name was also unveiled in May on a plaque on the Sheriff’s Office's Law Enforcement Memorial Wall at its Yulee headquarters.
dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sign honors Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers where he was shot
