Funeral for Baldwin County deputy set for Saturday in Robertsdale

Bill Smith truck

The Baldwin County Sheriff Department's pick up truck that Deputy Bill Smith drove while serving on beach detail along the Fort Morgan peninsula is on display along Alabama State Route 59 in Robertsdale, Ala. Smith died on Sunday, June 6, 2021, while responding to a swimmers in distress call. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

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The funeral and visitation for the Baldwin County Sheriff’s deputy who died during a rescue in the dangerous surf of the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday will be held this Saturday in Robertsdale.

Funeral services for William “Bill” Smith, 57, of Gulf Shores, will take place at 2 p.m. at the Baldwin County Coliseum at 19477 Fairground Road in Robertsdale. The family will receive friends before the service begins at 12:30 until the service starts.

Smith died sometime after 6 p.m. on Sunday while responding to a swimmer in distress call while on patrol in the Fort Morgan peninsula. According to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department, Smith was attempting to make a rescue when he got into “some kind of distress and went underwater.” He was later pronounced dead at a freestanding emergency facility in Gulf Shores.

Smith’s body was transported by a police escort on Tuesday from Baldwin County to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science in Mobile. The results of Smith’s autopsy were not available Tuesday afternoon.

An investigation into the circumstances leading to Smith’s death remain under investigation. The Gulf Shores Police Department is asking for witnesses to Smith’s death, according to a Facebook post.

“Several witnesses were present while emergency services from multiple agencies assisted in the incident. The Gulf Shores Police Department is asking for eyewitnesses to come forward with information relating to those who assisted in the matter, cell phone video, or photographs,” the post says. Anyone with information regarding the incident are directed by the Gulf Shores Police Department at 251-968-2431 or via email at gspdtips@gulfshoresal.gov.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Michael Malone Memorial Scholarship Fund, 800 Veterans Road, Gulf Shores, AL 36542 or to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Foundation, 310 Hand Avenue, Bay Minette, AL 36507.

Related content:

Baldwin deputy who died in Fort Morgan recalled as leader during 30-plus career in police and firefighting

Baldwin County deputy who drowned saving swimmers remembered as hero who ‘went in to save a life’

Bill Smith, hero: Tribute to Baldwin Co. deputy who drowned during rescue

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