Wallowa County

Ryan Moody was born in Lincoln City in 1972 and moved to Corvallis in 1977 where he attended Corvallis High School followed by Linn-Benton Community College. Ryan started his Law Enforcement career as a Benton County Sheriff’s Cadet through the Explorer program in 1989. During this time, he attended a Cadet Academy for six months, followed by a Reserve Academy after being hired in 1992 as a Marine Cadet for the Sheriff’s Office. During his third season as a Marine Deputy in 1994, he was hired full-time as a Patrol Deputy for the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. 

He was a Patrol Deputy until 2001 when he was promoted to Patrol Corporal, followed by Patrol Sergeant in 2008. During his career, he was assigned to the Detective Division for three years and was an active member of the Linn-Benton Regional SWAT Team for almost 15 years. 

During his career at Benton County, he managed the entire fleet of vehicles for almost 25 years, managed the fleet budget, and supervised the Marine Patrol for six years. 

During his career, he held the position of Liaison/Security for the Oregon State University Athletic Program where he worked with several hundred student-athletes frequently. This included traveling with the Oregon State Football Program from 2002-2021, the Oregon State Baseball Program to the College World Series in 2005/2006. During his career on his days off, he volunteered many hours at the Oregon State University Athletic complex helping organize clothing for Student Athletes. 

Ryan was employed by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training as a Vehicle Stop Instructor as well as an Emergency Vehicle Operation (EVO) Instructor. Ryan still holds this position and teaches around the state as well as at the Academy and has for the last 19 years. 

Ryan retired from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in 2022 after serving 30 years in the county. 

Ryan has been married to his wife for 13 years and together they have five children and five grandchildren. 

Ryan is familiar with Wallowa County as his family started having annual summer vacations at Trouthaven Resort in 1969 and continued up to 2009. 

Back in the early 2000’s Ryan would donate vehicle equipment to the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office after it had cycled through vehicles at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, knowing the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office budget could use it. 

After meeting Joel Fish when he was elected, Ryan donated some portable radios to the Sheriff’s Office in Wallowa County and started up a friendship with Joel. After visiting, Joel asked Ryan if he was interested in working after retirement and it ultimately led to Ryan retiring from Benton County and starting at the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office 14 days later.