Thirty-two years ago, Trooper Mike Spradlin was on duty one night. An emergency call came in from a family on Muddy Creek Mountain, and Spradlin responded by ushering the family out of harm’s way and to a safer location.
One of the family members in that situation was Roger Lockridge, who was ten years old at the time. For the first time since that fateful day 32 years ago, Lockridge met the man who saved his family’s lives, now-retired Trooper Mike Spradlin.
“Sir, I’ve wanted to meet you for 32 years,” Lockridge said to Spradlin this week at a chance meeting at Ronceverte Presbyterian Church. “You saved my family’s life in 1991, and I’ve never been able to thank you.”
Lockridge has spent his life sharing his story of surviving domestic violence and telling audiences about the trooper who saved his family. He now is successful fitness writer who is well-known to audiences across the world. “Sir,” he told Spradlin this week, “because of what you did for me I’ve been able to help thousands of other people living through addiction and domestic violence. I cannot thank you enough.”
Spradlin said he was just doing his job like so many law enforcement officers do each day, and he was glad he was able to answer the call that night.
For their bravery in the face of danger, their commitment to helping others, and their shared destiny, RealWV is proud to name Roger Lockridge and Mike Spradlin as the certified Real West Virginians of the Week.
If you’d like to nominate a neighbor to the The Real West Virginian of the Week, email us at news@therealwv.com.
