Cameron says goodbye to beloved Det. Fugate
Following multiple ceremonies in his honor, Cameron laid to rest Cameron Police Detective I.B. Fugate, who passed away last Tuesday.
Fugate’s death late last Tuesday sent a shockwave through the city of Cameron with some still reeling from the death of DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Clark.
“As a community, we hold out these prayers for I.B.’s family, for the Cameron Police Department, may you give them an extra measure of your grace,” said Cameron United Methodist Church Paster Dan Brown during a prayer vigil last Wednesday. “May they know that you (God) walk with them. You walk beside them and you will be there for them. They are surrounded by a community that desires to demonstrate your love to them.”
Fugate joined the Cameron Police Department, eventually rising to detective in 2013, before disbanding its detective unit due to lack of funds. Once voters approved a 1/2-cent sales tax for the CPD last fall, Chief Rick Bashor said Fugute was one of the first officers to be officially promoted back to detective. Fugate recently played a role in an investigation eventually leading to the arrest of Kenneth Wykert, who allegedly murdered Cameron native Leah Dawson. He was also a regular participant of the Cameron Shop with a Cop event, which provided Christmas presents to underprivileged children.
After graduating from the Western Missouri Police Academy in 2002, Fugate began his law enforcement career at the Hamilton Police Department, the hometown of the class of 2000 Penny High School graduate. Following his stint with the HPD, Fugate worked with the North Central Missouri Drug Task Force, then the CPD, where he would serve as patrolman, S.W.A.T. team member and eventually detective. The Cameron Chamber of Commerce recognized him as officer of the year in 2013. Before being laid to rest at the Highland Cemetery in Hamilton, area members of law enforcement took him on one final patrol around Cameron. He leaves behind a wife, two children and a thousands of Cameron citizens thankful to him for serving the community for more than a decade.
