Kyle Holcomb
Bowie County Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigations Division
When Officer Kyle Holcomb was 21 and living in Ohio, studying and school were the last things on his mind, so his father strongly suggested that Kyle find a job. Kyle was encouraged to apply for a Corrections Officer opening since one of Kyle’s dad’s friends was the Ross County Sheriff. “I went through the process and was hired. I got to know the road deputies, and they kept telling me that I needed to ride with them. I remember riding the first time, and I was hooked!” Officer Kyle Holcomb says. “I rode so much they had to limit the amount of time I could ride out, so I went to the police academy and that’s where I started my career.”
After moving back to Texas from Ohio, Officer Holcomb worked for the local natural gas company and the Liberty Eylau Fire Department as a Fire Investigator. “When 9/11 happened, I thought I could do more, and I challenged the Texas police exam and started working for Queen City shortly thereafter,” Officer Holcomb says. “I went on to work as the Assistant Chief of Mount Pleasant Police Department, and I went to work with the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigations Division, in February of 2021.”
Though Officer Holcomb has lived in other places, Texarkana has always felt like home. His father worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and he transferred to Texarkana when Officer Holcomb was just starting school. “I attended Beverley and Wake Village Elementary Schools. I was part of the last ninth-grade class at Westlawn Junior High before moving to Ohio,” Officer Holcomb says. “I came back as often as I could and eventually moved back in the early 90s. I just consider Texarkana home, and it always calls me back if I leave.”
For Officer Holcomb, the most rewarding part of the job happens when he can bring a victim or their loved ones comfort by bringing those responsible for harming them to justice. “In a recent case that sticks out, a lady said that when I arrested her ex-husband, she was finally able to get some rest for the first time in months from the constant harassment. Another rewarding part of my job is working with a great team of investigators and deputies at the sheriff’s office. We have a lot of fun and help each other through the hard times,” Officer Holcomb says. “The most challenging part of my job is investigating cases where children are involved. It never ceases to horrify me what a human can do to another, especially the children.”
However, it is the ability to help others that keeps Officer Holcomb coming back day after day to the job, no matter what that day may bring. “It isn’t hard to get motivated on the tough days because you see that person hurting or their family struggling with what has happened to their loved one, and you just want to bring them peace,” Officer Holcomb says. “It is the slow days that some of the thoughts can haunt you, and I just ask Jesus for a little bit of his time and hug my wife a little tighter.”
Officer Holcomb is married to Kimberly Holcomb, a mortgage originator with Farmers Bank. They are celebrating twenty years of marriage this year. “She is my best friend and my biggest fan,” Officer Holcomb says. “I have a stepson, Clayton, an aircraft mechanic, and my hunting buddy. I have two daughters, Destanie, who is a schoolteacher, and Lindsay, who is a nurse in the military.”
Whenever he is not working, Officer Holcomb loves to hunt and considers hunting season a chance to recharge. “Hearing the woods come to life each morning is a blessing. It does not matter to me if I get anything; it’s about observing the awesome world God created for us,” Officer Holcomb says. “My favorite thing to hunt is ducks. There is nothing better than seeing a group of mallards with their wings cupped coming down out of the sky straight towards your spread of decoys.”
Officer Holcomb says that many people have supported and guided him throughout his career, including his parents, both in the law enforcement field, his co-workers, and his mentors. “However, the one person that mentored me the most would be Chief Wayne Isbell. Wayne pushed me to go beyond what I thought I could do and gave me the tools to achieve the goals I set,” Officer Holcomb says. “I received my bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State at 50 because of him. Wayne has the ability to lead people and address them with humility while still achieving a law enforcement objective.”
Besides receiving his degree, Officer Holcomb is also very proud to complete the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, a 10-week professional course of study for U.S. and international law enforcement managers that provides coursework in intelligence theory, terrorism, law, behavioral science, and forensic science. Officer Holcomb was scheduled to attend the January 2012 class, and during his physical training preparing for the academy, he started having back issues. These back pains got worse, and he scheduled a CT exam. Officer Holcomb got a call from the doctor a couple of days before Christmas saying that he needed to see a specialist because there appeared to be masses on both hips. “I thought I had lost my chance to attend the FBI Academy. I had to tell them I could not walk by New Year, let alone run six miles as required. I finally got a diagnosis in March of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Stage IV. After receiving chemotherapy and building my body back, I was asked to attend the Spring 2013 FBI National Academy,” Officer Holcomb says. “I made my training goal to complete the FBI’s Yellow Brick Road Course. The Yellow Brick Road is a 6.1-mile run through the hills of Virginia and parts of the Marine Corps obstacle course. I did not tell anyone there that my goal was to complete this until I was done.”