ThinBlueNews remembers Deputy Sheriff Damian Draper Bost of the Columbus County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina, whose End of Watch was Thursday, June 25, 2026.
The Officer Down Memorial Page records Deputy Bost's line-of-duty death as a struck-by-vehicle incident on U.S. Highway 74/76 near the Hallsboro Road exit.
ODMP reports that Deputy Bost was parked in the median with his cruiser lights activated while assigned to warn drivers about a construction and repaving project when a tractor-trailer in the westbound lane struck his cruiser. ODMP also notes that a construction worker was injured.
Columbus County News, citing Sheriff Bill Rogers, reported that Deputy Bost was one of two deputies escorting a painting crew on U.S. 74 near Hallsboro and that he was pronounced dead at Columbus Regional after the crash. The same report described him as a school resource officer and DARE team member remembered for his work with children.
In that local account, Sheriff Rogers remembered Deputy Bost as someone who loved children and law enforcement, saying he was often the person behind the lion at DARE programs: “He was always our lion.”
ODMP lists Deputy Bost as 30 years old with eight years of service, and lists his survivors as his wife, two children, and parents. This remembrance is offered with respect for his family, his Columbus County Sheriff's Office colleagues, the students and families he served, and the North Carolina law-enforcement community carrying his memory forward.
Deputy Bost's End of Watch is a reminder that the quiet traffic-control and school-safety assignments communities rely on still carry real risk, and that every fallen officer leaves a family, an agency, and a community changed forever.
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ThinBlueNews creates original remembrance pages to honor law-enforcement sacrifice. ODMP is the nonprofit maintaining the national officer memorial record and providing support resources connected to fallen officers and their families.
Sources and attribution
- ODMP memorial page: Deputy Sheriff Damian Draper Bost
- Columbus County News: “Always Our Lion”: Deputy was Devoted SRO, DARE Officer
- Columbus County News: Deputy Killed in Morning Crash
- ODMP donation page
Featured memorial image: ODMP profile photo of Deputy Sheriff Damian Draper Bost with ThinBlueNews memorial overlay and source attribution. ThinBlueNews does not claim ownership of the ODMP source portrait.
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