LIBBY, Mont. — Lincoln County said goodbye to one of its own Friday as Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Terpsma made his final journey home.
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Terpsma and community member Merissa Walker lost their lives in a shooting in Eureka on Oct. 30 — a loss residents say hits close to home.
First responders from across the region, including Wyoming and Idaho, traveled to Libby to honor Deputy Terpsma. Community members lined the route to show their support for his family and fellow deputies.
"It's very sad. It's a very heart-wrenching thing. I just really feel for his family that this tragedy had to happen, and there's also another lady who their family lost her also, and we just need to support each other and just hope this never happens again," Libby resident Kayley Barton said.
Terpsma is a native of Bellingham, Washington. His fellow deputies at the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office organized the honor escort Friday afternoon to bring him home.
The route left Schnackenberg and Nelson Funeral Home at 2:30 p.m., then traveled Highway 2 to the Libby airport, where Deputy Terpsma would begin his final journey to Washington.
Barton said she came out to support Deputy Terpsma's family.
"Libby's a small town, and we all know each other even though the sheriff's deputy was in Eureka, but we know everybody here, and we support our law enforcement and their family, and this is what we can do is to let them know that we are praying with them and thinking of them and hoping they can come through this tragedy OK," Barton said.
