IDAHO FALLS — Jessica Marley’s career path has been undaunted by glass ceilings.

In December 2017, the 21-year Idaho Falls Police Department veteran became the first woman in department history to be promoted to sergeant and, in July 2019, became the first to earn the rank of lieutenant. On Friday it was announced that Marley has been promoted to the rank of captain, also a first for the department, making her one of the highest-ranking female law enforcement officers in the state.

A Post Register online search found that no other police department among Idaho’s 10 largest cities appears to have a female sworn officer on their command staff, although the Boise Police Department has a woman on its command staff in the role of chief administrative officer. Additionally, the north Idaho city of Rathdrum, population 8,200, has a female police chief.

Marley is one of seven women officers in the Idaho Falls Police Department, according to Jessica Clements, public information officer.

Marley’s promotion comes after the retirement of Capt. Bill Squires, who previously commanded the Patrol Bureau. Only three Idaho Falls Police officers hold the rank of captain, each of whom oversees one of three bureaus in the department and reports directly to the chief of police, a police department news release said. The Patrol Bureau includes the largest number of personnel who handle initial response to calls for police assistance in the community, proactive patrol, K-9 operations and a number of other functions.

Marley joined the Idaho Falls Police Department in October 2001 and has served as a patrol officer, neighborhood police officer, detective and instructor, the release said. She’s also spent nine years each on the SWAT team and as a field training officer for new police officers.

Marley was instrumental in bringing to a close one of the city’s highest profile cold cases. First as a detective and later as a sergeant, Marley took a lead role in solving the murder of Stephanie Ann Wilkey Eldredge. Eldredge, who was 21 at the time of her death, was reported missing on Aug. 20, 2007. Her remains were discovered in the foothills near Idaho Falls on April 23, 2010.

Marley was first assigned to the case in 2014 and through dogged effort helped identify Eldredge’s killer, Kenneth Ryan Jones.

In January 2021, District Judge Joel Tingey ordered Jones, 32, to serve a minimum of nine years in prison for manslaughter with an indeterminate period of six years in prison. He also sentenced Jones to an indeterminate period of five years in prison for destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, that sentence will be served consecutively with his manslaughter sentence, meaning the time must be served separately.

Marley has a bachelor’s degree in social work and a master’s degree in social work and management, the release said.

Before joining the force, Marley spent five years at the state Department of Health & Welfare in the Family and Community Services Division working as a child protection investigator. For the past 15 years, in addition to her role as a police officer, Marley has worked professionally as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in various settings, the release said.

In a 2017 interview with the Post Register, Marley said she often applies what she’s learned about mental health while on the job. She decided to pursue a career in police work to have a greater impact on the community.

“I think it’s more of a calling than a career,” Marley said at the time.

Police Chief Bryce Johnson first met Marley during the 2017 eclipse, while he was still transitioning to the department, and immediately recognized that she is “really good at what she does,” he told the Post Register.

“Over the last five years that I have known her, I have been consistently impressed with Jessica Marley’s dedication to this community and the professional expertise she brings to this department,” Johnson said in the release. “Captain Marley will be over the Patrol Bureau. I am both excited to see where she leads it, and certain that both our patrol officers and community will be in good hands.”