KOKOMO, Ind. -- More than 100 balloons were released at a special service honoring the one-year anniversary of the line of duty death of Howard County Deputy Carl Koontz on Monday. The first of those balloons was found in West Virginia on Tuesday.
Each of the balloons released during the "End of Watch" ceremony at Albright Cemetery had a note card attached that shared Deputy Koontz' story about how he lost his life trying to protect the community.
"I cannot thank the community enough for all that you have done for us to show Carl's sacrifice has not been forgotten," Koontz's widow, Kassie, said at the ceremony on Monday.
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Kassie said she hoped that people would read the note and send a message back to the couple's young son Noah.
A woman named Sandy from Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia found the balloons and fixed them back up to fly. But not before recording a special message for Noah and Kassie.
"Hi Noah, this is Sandy in West Virginia, and we found your dad's memory balloons and we re-did it, and here it goes off again. God bless you all."
Kassie shared the video and message on a Facebook group created to track the balloons that were released.
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