A Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper died Friday at his home just south of Fayette. Leif Alan Dezner, 26, was killed when a large portion of a tree he was cutting fell on him.

He was found by his father-in-law around 1 p.m. Howard County Ambulance personnel were unable to detect life signs. He was later pronounced dead on the scene by Howard County Coroner Trisha Clark.

Trooper Dezner leaves behind a wife and two children, with a third child expected soon. 

He was born in Clearwater, Florida, and later moved to Howard County and graduated from Fayette High School in 2015.

A member of the Missouri National Guard, he graduated from the Missouri Highway Patrol Academy in 2017. After serving for five years in North St. Louis County, he was promoted to Corporal and was recently assigned to the patrol’s Troop F in Howard and Cooper counties.

Trooper Dezner will be laid to rest on Thursday. A full obituary appears on Page 3 of this newspaper.