Caden Mullins was at a trunk-or-treat event in his hometown when the call came in. The 24-year-old Logan County deputy had his fiancée with him, so he started driving her home first. Then he planned to head out and answer it.
He never made it. On Saturday, Oct. 24, in the late afternoon, a coal truck pulling off Rum Creek Road hit his patrol car at the Route 10 intersection in the Man area. Mullins died at the scene.
His fiancée was in the car with him. A helicopter flew her to a hospital in Charleston. For about a day, nobody outside the family knew how badly she was hurt. On Sunday, Sheriff Paul Clemens said she was in stable condition.
Mullins grew up in Logan County and graduated from Man High School in 2022. He started his law enforcement career as an officer with the Charleston Police Department. He later moved over to the Logan County Sheriff’s Office so he could live closer to his family. He also worked part time for the Man Police Department.
Law enforcement runs in his house. His brother, Jason “Gage” Mullins, is also a Logan County deputy. The sheriff’s office sent its condolences to the whole family and named Gage in its message.
On Monday evening, officers brought Caden home. More than 140 vehicles left the state Medical Examiner’s Office in Charleston and drove to the funeral home in Man. State police, Charleston police, Kanawha County deputies and Logan County deputies were all in line. Officers from Harlan County, Kentucky, came too. The flashing lights stretched for blocks on Charleston’s West Side.
Chief Deputy Mike LaFauci said the department wanted to send Mullins off the right way. He called him a good man, a good deputy, a good son and a good father.
West Virginia State Police are leading the crash investigation, and it is still open. Please keep the Mullins family, his fellow deputies and his fiancée in your prayers.
Leave a Reply