A police sergeant who rescued at least four people at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing committed suicide this week but left no note, prompting friends and co-workers to speculate that he was driven by guilt at not being able to have saved more lives and by despondency over a troubled family life, the police said.

The sergeant, Terrance Yeakey, 30, was found on Wednesday in a field near his hometown, El Reno, about 30 miles west of Oklahoma City. Sergeant Yeakey had apparently tried to slit his wrists, then shot himself to death, three days before he was to receive the department's medal of valor, the police said.

Sergeant Yeakey and his friend Officer Jim Ramsey were among the first policemen to reach the scene of the bombing, which killed 168 people at the Federal Building on April 19, 1995. Sergeant Yeakey rescued at least four people before falling through two floors of the building and injuring his back.

"He had a lot of guilt because he got hurt," Officer Ramsey said.

Sergeant Yeakey was divorced and was legally prevented from entering the house he and his former wife had shared with their daughters, ages 2 and 4, Officer Ramsey said. When asked about possible reasons that Sergeant Yeakey might have been despondent, Officer Ramsey said, "His ex-wife, his love for his two daughters that he could not see."