Williams was one of five officers in the National Wildlife Refuge System to win a 2010 Refuge Officer of the Year award for outstanding work in their respective geographic regions. He is stationed primarily in Prince William and Fairfax counties.

Williams said suicides at parks and refuges happen occasionally because “people want to see something beautiful before they do the deed.”

And that’s why when he saw what appeared to be an abandoned car parked at a trailhead parking lot, he decided to investigate.

“Because we deal with that, that’s what told me to dig a little deeper,” Williams said. “The way the vehicle was parked was suspicious to me. It was kind of parked as if someone wanted it to be hidden.”

He said he checked its tag to see if an alert had been issued for the driver. Williams then contacted the driver’s landlord and employer at the grocery store where she worked, but neither had seen the woman in days.

Fairfax County police officers Peter Masood and Scott Cole, with the help of a search dog, searched and found the woman a half-mile away from the public view.

“It took kind of an all-combined effort,” Williams said.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officers enforce federal law on national wildlife refuges.

“I always knew I wanted to be a federal game warden,” Williams said. “It’s gratifying to protect the natural resources for future generations.”