Mom of Slain State Trooper Gets Emotional Surprise on Southwest Plane

A gate agent was filmed singing "You Raise Me Up" for a special passenger sitting in the front row of a Southwest Airlines plane.

The passenger, Debbie Edenhofer, is the mother of 24-year-old Tyler Edenhofer, a state trooper who was killed in the line of duty just two months after graduating from the police academy in Phoenix in July. His funeral drew thousands of mourners last summer. 

When Southwest gate agent Scott Wirt learned the trooper's mom was on a plane from Phoenix to Louisville last month, he decided to honor her in his own way. He performed Josh Groban's cover of "You Raise Me Up" for the entire plane — but only after checking with her first.

"I whispered to her, 'You mind if I honor you by singing this song and letting these people know about your son?'" Wirt told Inside Edition. "She was like, 'That would be wonderful.'"

Edenhofer said she was "definitely surprised."

"But it just reminds me that there are good people out there and people that do care," she told Inside Edition. "For him honoring my son, it was a beautiful moment."

Wirt recalled she was "blown away," and said they both started crying during the song.

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