Conservation Officer Maurice M. Baggs

Maurice M. Baggs

Conservation Officer Maurice Baggs drowned in the Little Sioux River, in Cherokee, when he fell from a dam while attempting to help a fisherman.

He was attempting to walk across the Illinois Central Railroad dam to check the licenses of a group of fishermen. The water had risen over the dam due to recent rain and he lost his footing. He was able to take off his hip boots in an attempt to swim to safety but was washed downstream and drowned.

Officer Baggs had served with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for 14 months and was assigned to Buena Vista, Cherokee and Pocahontas Counties He was survived by his wife.