MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — Myrtle Beach police on Friday dedicated a Highway 17 overpass to honor 23-year-old Patrolman Jacob Hancher, who died in October 2020 while responding to a domestic violence call near Yaupon Drive.
Hancher had been a Myrtle Beach office for only eight months, and his family said the support of the Myrtle Beach and Horry County communities is what has kept them going.
“It is the strength of this community that has gotten our family through,” his mother, Suzanne Williams, said.
Signs can be seen on the east and west sides of the Harrelson Boulevard/Fantasy Harbor bridge. It’s just one way that memories of Hancher are being kept alive.
“Our police and fire families, together with our city team forever continue his legacy,” Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said. “The support we were given was not just from the Myrtle Beach community, it was from virtually every city across the state as well as across our nation.”
Before and after becoming a police officer, Hancher volunteered with the Horry County Fire Rescue Squad, evening being named the Volunteer Firefighter of the Year in 2020. Along the way, he made friends who would never forget him.
“We shared so many laughs,” one HCFR volunteer said.
Hancher also impacted the lives of his fellow officers.
“There are definitely times where I feel Jacob with me,” Officer Cody Kolb said.
Hancher was also remembered in Oct. 2021, a year after his death.
MPBD posted photos of Friday’s ceremony on its Facebook page.
“If you pass these signs entering and leaving our city, remember to live, love, interact and connect the way Jacob did,” the city said in the post.
