ThinBlueNews remembers Home Confinement Officer Michael Andrew Sillman of the Marion County Sheriff's Office on the fifth anniversary of his End of Watch, Tuesday, July 20, 2021.
The Officer Down Memorial Page records that Officer Sillman suffered a fatal heart attack while assisting deputies serving a warrant in Marion County, West Virginia. The deputies were approaching through rugged terrain when he collapsed. Colleagues immediately began CPR but could not revive him. This anniversary remembrance avoids graphic detail and focuses on his service, sacrifice and continuing legacy.
Service in two West Virginia roles
ODMP lists Sillman as 34 years old, badge 498, and a four-year member of the Marion County Sheriff's Office. The memorial record also says he was serving as police chief of the Grant Town Police Department. His public service therefore reached both county corrections work and municipal policing.
A Times West Virginian archival report corroborated that Sillman served as Grant Town police chief and as a Marion County home confinement officer. The report said more than 100 community members, relatives and Marion County first responders gathered at South Ridge Church to honor his life after his death.
The ODMP record says Sillman was survived by his wife, who also served in law enforcement. ThinBlueNews includes that public fact only to recognize the family and public-safety community that carried the loss; this remembrance does not intrude further into private family details.
Five years later, still remembered
This is an anniversary remembrance, offered with respect for Officer Sillman's family, friends, fellow officers, the Marion County Sheriff's Office, the Grant Town Police Department and the West Virginia communities he served.
Five years after his End of Watch, Michael Sillman is remembered for answering the call in two law-enforcement roles and for the lasting place he holds among the family, colleagues and neighbors who gathered to honor him.
End of Watch
Home Confinement Officer Michael Andrew Sillman
Marion County Sheriff's Office, West Virginia
Badge 498
End of Watch: Tuesday, July 20, 2021
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ODMP maintains the national memorial record for fallen law-enforcement officers and provides resources connected to fallen officers and their families.
Sources and image attribution
- Officer Down Memorial Page: Home Confinement Officer Michael Andrew Sillman
- Times West Virginian archive: Community mourns the death of Grant Town police chief
- ODMP donation page
Featured-image note: ThinBlueNews used the ODMP portrait of Home Confinement Officer Michael Sillman and added a restrained memorial design with visible source attribution. No synthetic likeness, generated officer portrait or representative incident image was used. ThinBlueNews does not claim ownership of the source portrait.
If family, colleagues or agency representatives see anything that should be corrected or updated, please contact ThinBlueNews through our corrections and editorial standards page.