{"id":4363,"date":"2026-08-06T04:37:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T04:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4363"},"modified":"2026-08-06T04:37:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T04:37:14","slug":"she-was-a-superhero-lexington-mourns-deputy-lost-in-lake-murray-dive-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4363","title":{"rendered":"\u2018She was a superhero.\u2019 Lexington mourns deputy lost in Lake Murray dive training"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The great and the good of Lexington County and uniformed members of seemingly every law enforcement agency in the state turned out for the funeral of a superhero.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4361\">TPS ends for 350,000 Haitians: Federal judge lifts stay after Supreme Court ruling<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s at least how Lochlann Weigmann remembers his late aunt, Lexington County Master Deputy Jillian Olson, a member of the sheriff\u2019s department dive team who died during a training exercise on Lake Murray last week.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe really believed she could send tornadoes away and save people from volcanoes,\u201d Olson\u2019s sister Julia Weigmann wrote in comments read during Olson\u2019s funeral at Lexington\u2019s Pilgrim Lutheran Church on Wednesday morning. \u201cHe called her to ask her to arrest a kid on the playground who wasn\u2019t nice to him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Family, friends and colleagues remembered a fun-loving, self-confident and driven 29-year-old woman who seemingly had a bright future ahead of her. Among other accolades she collected in a five-year law enforcement career, Olson had only recently completed her 100th dive as a member of the department\u2019s dive team, tasked with locating objects and people lost under the lake and other bodies of water.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>On July 30, it became the mission of that team to locate Olson, Sheriff Jay Koon said in a funeral tribute that gave the most public details yet of what happened during last week\u2019s training exercise.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Olson was on a deep-water dive to the Wyse Ferry Bridge, a submerged structure that once straddled the Saluda River between Lexington and the Dutch Fork area, until a hydropower dam put it 110 feet underwater almost a century ago. The structure has become a popular attraction for divers on Lake Murray.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But the two-year dive team veteran didn\u2019t resurface.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur men and women on the water were heroes,\u201d Koon said. \u201cLast Thursday was tough. We were praying for the best and preparing for the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>When the worst was confirmed, Koon went back to his office to meet with Olson\u2019s parents, Jim and Molly Olson.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI admire the amazing strength and faith they showed,\u201d the sheriff said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Olson was born March 29, 1997, in Evanston, Illinois. She \u201cdidn\u2019t drift through life,\u201d her father Jim Olson said. \u201cShe had dreams and she went after them,\u201d starting with a black belt in taekwondo, an achievement Jim Olson said instilled discipline in his daughter.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>After she graduated from Western Illinois University, Olson moved south to start her career in law enforcement. She loved her job nearly as much as she loved the lake, where she frequently went paddleboarding or kayaking.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Her brother Corey Olson said this week was the first time he met many of the people whose names had become familiar to family group chats after his sister moved to Lexington.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe found her home here,\u201d Corey Olson said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Frank Anderson, the pastor of St. Michael\u2019s Lutheran Church on River Road, had been Olson\u2019s godfather when she was a child. But he found a new respect for her when she followed him south years later as an adult.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4359\">SC Supreme Court: Ford can stay on Senate ballot after GOP, state appeal<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>He recalled how he once nervously called her up to talk about how best he could apologize to a mutual friend. When he later visited her home, \u201cShe pulled me in for a hug, invited me in&#8230; and we talked for two hours,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cForty-five minutes earlier she didn\u2019t know I\u2019d needed her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The pastor left amazed that the person he had held as a baby was now the friend he would turn to for advice.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Her family remembered her as someone who always strove to be independent, who taught herself to paint as well as to install ceiling fans.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was most satisfied figuring out something that didn\u2019t make sense,\u201d her brother Corey said. \u201cShe would never admit defeat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Koon recalled meeting Olson after a dive in a pond during a missing person search.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe looked like she\u2019d been in a pig pen,\u201d he said. \u201cBut she was happy to report the all clear. She was lost doing what she loved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Representatives of multiple state and local law enforcement agencies attended the service and accompanied Olson in procession to her burial at St. Michael\u2019s. Also in attendance were Alan Wilson, South Carolina\u2019s attorney general and the Republican nominee for governor; his father, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-Springdale; Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott; U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling; and members of Lexington County and Lexington Town Councils.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Her father said if his daughter could stand in front of that crowd, \u201cshe would be terribly uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe did not like being the center of attention,\u201d Jim Olson said. \u201cShe wanted to make everyone else laugh and feel seen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But he was also proud of the life she had built for herself in Lexington.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo one little boy, she was a superhero, and maybe she is,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was the life she wanted. It was far too short, but it was incredibly full.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4358\">Becky Hill wins as judge dismisses Alex Murdaugh\u2019s lawsuit against her<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<div> <\/div>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Community and law enforcement gathered in Lexington to honor deputy Jillian Olson, who died during a Lake Murray dive training exercise and was laid to rest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018She was a superhero.\u2019 Lexington mourns deputy lost in Lake Murray dive training - 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Olson, 29, died Thursday, July 30, 2026 during dive training exercise."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=4363#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018She was a superhero.\u2019 Lexington mourns deputy lost in Lake Murray dive training"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/","name":"US Moving Experts","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}