The brown memorial signs are up along State Route 56 in Pickaway County.
The Ohio Department of Transportation installed the Detective Rex Emrick Memorial Highway signs Thursday on State Route 56 West, between Five Points and the Pickaway-Madison County line, and members of Emrick’s family were there when the signs were revealed, according to the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office.
“Today was a very special day for the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post, calling the signs “a fitting way to remember such a great Deputy and even better family man.” The sheriff’s office thanked state Rep. Brian Stewart for sponsoring the legislation that made the designation possible.
The Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office shared photos of Thursday’s sign reveal:
The memorial name is written into state law. Ohio Revised Code Section 5534.443 designates State Route 56 between State Route 316 and the Madison County line, in Pickaway County, as the “Detective Rex Emrick Memorial Highway,” and authorizes the director of transportation to erect markers along the highway. The designation took effect Sept. 23, 2026. It began as House Bill 37, sponsored by Stewart, an Ashville Republican.
“It’s important to acknowledge sacrifices made by Detective Rex Emrick and other law-enforcement officers who kept answering the call, and the families and friends they left behind,” Stewart said when the House passed the bill. “Detective Rex Emrick was truly the best of the best and we were honored in Pickaway County to have had such an incredible example of what service truly means in our community.”
Emrick devoted nearly 47 years to law enforcement. He began his career with the Mount Sterling Police Department in April 1974 and joined the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office in 1976, serving as a deputy sheriff and then as a detective until his death on Jan. 26, 2021, according to the Ohio House of Representatives. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office, which honored Emrick at the 2025 Ohio Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony, said he died of complications from COVID-19, five weeks shy of his 70th birthday, after a career in which he was promoted to detective in 1994 and worked major homicide and child-sex-abuse cases. He was survived by his wife of 42 years, Becky, their son and daughter, and four grandchildren.
His honors along the way included the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association Commendation Award, a Law Enforcement Excellence Award from the Ohio Department of Public Safety, and the 2001 VFW Post 331 Circleville Officer of the Year award, according to the House.
