Deputy Wes Brough serves as a patrol deputy with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in DeLand, Florida, where he has built a distinguished record during his law enforcement career. Assigned to patrol duties in the Deltona area of east-central Florida, Brough has responded to a wide range of critical incidents, including AMBER Alerts and a call involving a teenager contemplating jumping from a bridge. A father of three, he brings both professional training and personal empathy to every call for service.
Brough gained national attention in August 2024 when he rescued a missing five-year-old boy with autism from a pond in Deltona. After a 911 call reported the nonverbal child missing, Brough was first on scene and, drawing on his autism awareness training and knowledge that children with autism are often drawn to water, sprinted toward nearby wooded wetlands. He located the boy clinging to a log in a pond and waded into the waist-high water to carry him to safety — all within approximately 20 minutes of the initial call. The dramatic body camera footage went viral, drawing coverage from NBC, CBS, FOX, and numerous other outlets.
The rescue earned Brough recognition from the International Union of Police Associations, which presented him with a commendation letter and certificate for his lifesaving actions. He was also named Officer of the Month for August 2024 by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. In March 2025, Brough was among seven Volusia County residents honored at Governor Ron DeSantis’s Florida Heroes reception at the governor’s mansion, recognized for demonstrating exceptional courage and selflessness.
