Olney mourns Cpl. Miranda Wright

The citizens of Olney joined law enforcement and first responders in mourning the untimely loss of Olney Police Cpl. Miranda Wright, who died on Saturday at age 47 after a brief battle with cancer.

The petite yet formidable Cpl. Wright worked the OPD’s overnight patrol with her K9 partner, Bond, and the two were largely responsible for interdicting the persistent drug trafficking that traveled down Main Street, Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck said.

“For such little feet, it will be big shoes to fill,” he said. “She was a force to be reckoned with, a nonstop advocate of the City of Olney and its betterment. She was so full of energy and ‘go.’” Cpl. Wright often had the highest arrest rates, traffic stops, and drug arrests each month and constantly pushed herself to stay at the top of the department’s stats, he said.

“She would get upset if she was having a slow month, feeling like she was not holding up her end of her commitment,” he said. “She was an amazing asset for the department and she left a huge void. She was loved by everybody.”

Cpl. Wright could be “brutally honest even if it hurt your feelings,” Chief Birbeck said. “I would tell my new recruits, ‘If you can make it through Miranda, you have earned it.’ She wasn’t going to let somebody who was going to be a problem for our department make it through without letting her voice be heard.”

Even those she arrested multiple times came to her with their troubles because of her compassion for the human condition.

“She was a huge part [of the decrease in crime in Olney],” Chief Birbeck said. “Fifty percent, if not more, of everything that happened on nights. She would get called out on her nights off with the dog and help other officers with their stops.”

Chief Birbeck said was considering multiple options for K9 Bond, who was Cpl. Wright’s third K9 partner. “He is being taken care of,” he said.

OPD personnel are “devastated” at her loss, he said. “There are a lot of emotions right now,” he said. “We have made qualified people available to them to deal with the grief and we are all comforting each other right now. We still have a mission and business goes on. We are making sure our officers are in a good place to handle these dayto- 170 day [issues].” Cpl. Wright also served as an emergency medical technician for the City of Olney on her days off from the OPD. Her partner, paramedic Shandra Morcom, said Cpl. Wright had a talent for soothing terrified patients.

“She was way more helpful than she realized,” she said. “When she entered the room, she had a very peaceful demeanor about her.”

After serving in the U.S. Army, Cpl. Wright began her law enforcement career in Lubbock and Erath, Texas, then came to work at the City of Olney about 20 years ago, Chief Birbeck said. She served as a Young County Sheriff ’s deputy for several years before returning to Olney in 2021.

A police honor guard was set to provide full honors for Cpl Wright at her funeral on Wednesday at the First Baptist Church of Olney, and K9 Bond would be there to say his goodbyes, Chief Birbeck said.

She will be interred beside her mother in a private ceremony, he said.

She died at a Wichita Falls hospital on Aug. 3 after a two-month battle with cancer.

She was accompanied back to Olney on Saturday evening by a long procession of law enforcement and first responders, including officials from Wichita County, Clay County, Archer County and Young County; police officers from Archer City, Graham, Holliday, and Wichita Falls, firefighters from Olney and Archer City, and EMS from Olney and Archer City.

As the procession of vehicles passed through town with their lights flashing, citizens stood at attention or wiped away tears.

Mayor Rue Rogers stood with his wife and three children, somberly watching the procession pass.

“She gave many years of service to the City of Olney,” he said. “She was a wonderful person and a wonderful police officer and she is going to be tremendously missed.”

Chief Birbeck, leading the procession, sent his fellow officers and first responders his “heartfelt thanks and gratitude for bringing her home in spectacular fashion.”

As he turned onto Main Street from State Highway 114, he said he could hardly see to drive through his tears to Lunn Funeral Home.

He picked up his police radio and told the procession, “We are on Main Street. Miranda is truly home.”