Sheriff Roye Cole

Sheriff Roye H. Cole—son of Jack Cole and Cathy Baird—has been in law enforcement since the age of 16 years old. For 15 years, Cole has served as the Sheriff of Webster County. 

“It’s an absolute honor,” said Cole. “I enjoy helping people. I enjoy solving problems. I care about our local communities.”

Cole attended Logan-Rogersville HS and is a proud alumnus. As a Wildcat of the class of ’99, Cole completed the Rogersville Cadet Program under Chief Bob Paudert. 

After graduating high school, Cole attended and graduated from Ozark Technical Community College. After, he attended Drury University and graduated with his B.A. in Criminology and Psychology in 2005. Cole worked as a security officer for the university during this time. He also volunteered as a youth minister for the Greene County Sheriff’s Department as a Deputy Sheriff. 

At the age of 21, he graduated from the Springfield Police Department Training Academy.

After graduating, Cole took a position with the 30th Circuit Court of the State of Missouri as a Deputy Juvenile officer. He spent the next four years working on Child Abuse, Neglect, and Delinquency cases. 

Cole’s skilled casework during his time at the Circuit Court would have one of his cases make its way to the highest court in the state: The Supreme Court of Missouri. With local lawyer Teresa Rieger, Cole won his case and reworked the law to help victims of child abuse get valid testimony in court. 

In 2008, Cole was elected as the Sheriff of Webster County. Under Cole’s administration, officers were granted better pay and benefits.

“Our employee retention is excellent right now,” said Cole. “Frankly, they’re the ones that make this thing work. We have a bunch of local people doing this job for the communities that they live in. It’s a big ship with everyone involved, and along the office is a jail. ”

Cole returned to Drury to get his Master’s Degree in Business Administration in 2011. Cole has also received specialized training as a forensic interviewer of children, firearms instructor, leadership, and emergency response over the years. 

Cole shares three children with his wife, Amanda. In his spare time, he coaches his daughter’s softball team, volunteers in community organizations, and is a member of the Church of Christ. 

“At the end of the day this is a job,” added Cole. “There’s a reason we are an office and not a department. The amount of services we provide ranges from responding to shootings to getting cows out of the road. We run a full jail that houses 90 inmates every day. It’s a vast office, but I’m proud to say that we get it done.”