Coronavirus takes the life of a longtime Central Valley law enforcement officer

A Tulare County Sheriff’s officer has died from COVID-19.

Sheriff Mike Boudreaux confirmed on a Facebook posting Wednesday night of the passing of veteran deputy Frank Holguin, who died earlier in the day from complications of the coronavirus.

Holguin was 56 years old.

It is unclear when Holguin first contracted the contagious virus or how long he’d been battling COVID-19, which has been attributed to the death of more than 428,000 people in the United States since the pandemic began nearly a year ago.

The son of a California Highway Patrol officer, Holguin began his own law enforcement career more than 20 years old with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and initially worked as a deputy at the Bob Wiley Detention Facility.

Holguin also worked at the adult pre-trial facility, men’s correctional facilities in Orosi, Tulare and Pixley, and in the courts and family support security.

“All of us at the Sheriff’s Office are heartbroken over the loss of Deputy Holguin,” the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook. “We ask that you join us in sending your thoughts and prayers to his family and all of those who loved him.”

Holguin is survived by his wife of 33 years, Barbara, his daughter, Serrana, son Frank IV and his granddaughter Rose.

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office has come under fire in recent weeks amid a COVID-19 outbreak that swept through the county’s correctional facilities.

When Tulare County last updated his COVID-19 statistics, the county had reported on Monday of 542 coronavirus-related deaths.

This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 9:32 PM.