Stephen J. Strehl, a St. Louis, Missouri, police officer, was assigned to a Drug Enforcement Administration task force when he was killed in a helicopter crash on November 19, 1993. He was conducting a surveillance mission of a suspected indoor marijuana grow site. He was 35 years of age at the time of his death.

The DEA pilot, Special Agent Hawthorne I. Lee, suffered severe head and leg injuries as a result of the crash. Task Force Officer Strehl was survived by his wife, Kathryn, and three sons, Stephen, Sean, and Joseph.