Correctional Officer Richard Allen Wright

Richard Allen Wright

Correctional Officer Richard Wright died as the result of complications after contracting COVID-19 during an outbreak among employees and inmates at the Women's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia.

Officer Wright had served with the Missouri Department of Corrections for 15 years. He had previously served with the Audrain County Sheriff's Office and had retired as a Lieutenant from the Little Dixie Fire Protection District. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Beginning in early 2020, thousands of law enforcement officers and other first responders throughout the country contracted COVID-19 during the worldwide pandemic due to requirements of their job. Many of these first responders have died as a result of COVID-19, and continue to do so as the virus spreads across the United States.