Married mom-of-six police officer Phylicia Carson is killed in high-speed pursuit in Missouri

An Ozarks police officer who doubled as a married mother-of-six was killed in a high-speed pursuit through Missouri highways early Saturday morning.

Phylicia Carson, 33, was on patrol just before 1.20am when she noticed a vehicle speeding down US 54 near Passover Road, Osage Beach Police Chief Todd Davis announced.

She then activated her lights and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the unidentified driver sped off, Fox 2 Now reports. 

As Carson was trying to chase down the suspect, her patrol car began to skid, and she went off-road, crashing into a tree.

Her patrol car caught fire, and Carson - who had just joined the police department last year - died in the crash, Davis said. 

The suspect, meanwhile, crashed his own vehicle minutes later on State Highway A and was taken into custody.

He may now face felony charges for fleeing a traffic stop under the state's new Valentine's Law, Camden County Prosecuting Attorney Richelle Grosvenor said.

'Rest assured, your Camden County Prosecutor's Office is going to review the facts,' she told Ozarks First. 

'We are going to charge appropriately and we are going to pursue this with the resources that we have.'

In the meantime, the Osage Police Department and community members gathered over the weekend to remember the fallen officer.

Staff at the police department noted that her favorite color was pink, and to honor Carson, members of the public stopped by the police department on Saturday to drop off pink flowers on a police cruiser.

Her death marked the police department's first line-of-duty loss in 30 years, according to KY3.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson shared his condolences in the aftermath, saying he and his wife 'lift up her family and the Osage Beach community in our prayers.

'Officer Carson will not be forgotten,' he wrote on X. 

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe also said he and his wife 'extend our heartfelt condolences to Officer Carson's husband, their six children and fellow officers

'We must remember those in law enforcement who courageously serve their communities, despite the threats they face,' he wrote.

'May Officer Carson never be forgotten.' 

Others remembered Carson as a caring mother and wife to her husband, Grant.

'Phylicia Carson has always been one of those women who inspire you for the person that she has been... God-loving, momma bear, funny, outspoken [and a] ball of joy,' Cira Clement Monnig wrote on Facebook.

'My heart is broken for her, Grant Carson and their kids that she absolutely lived for.

'Please lift this family up and ask God to wrap them in peace.'

Summer Trowbridge also said she first met Carson a few months ago, and the two became fast friends.

'Daily she would send me Snapchat videos of her talking about her shift or her off-duty days, she would take about how proud she was of her children's achievements or her husband's as well,' Trowbridge wrote.

'She would always make the room light up with her laughter or jokes,' she continued. 'When you're upset, she was very [good] at making you feel better.

'I'm blessed to have gotten to know her for the time that I did,' Trowbridge concluded.

'She will be missed, loved and never forgotten.' 

Nadine Kelsay, meanwhile, wrote that: 'When I first heard Phylicia was training to be a police officer, I thought that was the perfect job for her! She was always that type of person that would love deeply and would go to the mat to protect those she loved.

'Though I wouldn't say I was close to her, I shared some wonderful memories as a new mother with her (well I was, she was on her fourth)!

'I always enjoyed her intensity and rawness, I always feltlike she was someone I could trust to tell the truth, even if it might've rubbed someone the wrong way.

'Phylicia Carson, I never told you this, but thank you for your service,' Kelsay concluded.

'As a wife and mom of six kids, I truly saw it as selfless to take on protecting an entire community as well!

'I'm grateful to you and Grant Carson and all the others at the Osage Beach PD who choose to protect my family and our community.

'Your sacrifice is not in vain and will be remembered for many, many years.'