32-Year-Old Manatee County Sheriff's Mechanic Dies Of COVID-19

BRADENTON, FL — The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office announced that Fleet Mechanic Christopher Osborne, 32, died of COVID-19. Osborne left behind a wife and four children.

Osborne joined the Sheriff’s Office in July 2018, according to the Sheriff’s Office. “He was quickly revered by co-workers as a brilliant mechanic, known for his innate ability to diagnose complex issues,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that garnered 97 comments and 189 shares.

Osborne was awarded Employee of the Month in 2019, when he and a coworker located and fixed a problem on the office’s electrical vehicles that the manufacturer was unable to diagnose, the Sheriff’s Office said.

In the comments, people who knew Osborne called him an “incredibly kind soul” and a “very nice man to work with.” Another friend called him a “great man with a loving heart” who will be “severely missed by his family and friends.” Osborne enjoyed spending time with his family, the outdoors, and bowhunting, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

A friend of his wife Jordan set up a GoFundMe page seeking $100,000 for medical and household bills. “Jordan needs our help in these trying times as she navigates being out of work, taking care of their 4 young children (3 to 11) and dealing with medical and household bills,” the page says. As of Friday afternoon, the page has only raised $6,925 of its $100,000 goal.

Like many law enforcement agencies, the MCSO has been hit hard with COVID-19. On Aug. 23, the agency reported 60 individuals testing positive, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. On Aug. 30, 67-year-old Deputy Douglas Clark died of COVID-19, following a two-week hospitalization. Clark had been with the MCSO in 2008 and worked in the corrections department for 13 years years, according to the Herald-Tribune.

The news of Osborne’s death also comes at the same time that 17-year-old Palmetto High School senior Aryana Santana lost her battle with COVID-19. Santana was remembered as a friendly, happy-go-lucky member of the school’s yearbook and JROTC clubs.

As of Sep. 22, a total of 61,644 cases have been reported in Manatee County, according to usafacts.org.

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