Deputy Rick Rhyne was shot to death on Dec. 8. Now, his widow is talking about his passion while on the job.
Wanda Rhyne said she never once tried to talk her husband into taking off his badge. However, she said she had a terrible feeling the moment her husband was killed almost a month ago.
"It was just a feeling that something went wrong," said Wanda. "I knew it was him before the detectives got here. I knew that something was wrong. Before I got to the hospital, I knew he was gone."
Deputy Rhyne was shot and killed by a trespassing suspect at a home on Morrison Bridge Road. After shooting Rhyne, the suspect shot himself.
It's a tragedy that underscores the danger of being a law officer.
Rhyne was in law enforcement more than 30 years and Wanda was by his side from the start. The two were high school sweethearts who got married young.
Wanda says Deputy Rhyne had several close calls over the years but, through it all, he loved being out on the road meeting with people and just trying to help.
"That was his love," she said. "For no compensation, no gratitude...just because they needed it."
Wanda says she is working to set up a scholarship in her husband's name at Sandhills Community College to help first responders and law officers. She thinks her husband would approve.
Deputy Rhyne was the first Moore County deputy killed in the line of duty.
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