Daniel Frank Otero |
| Posted 2019-12-14 by Pat R |
| Wickenburg Sun (Wickenburg, Arizona) Thursday, July 22, 1982, p. 3 Air Force Chaplain drowns in rescue attempt A Luke Air Force Base chaplain drowned last Wednesday, July 14 in an unsuccessful attempt to save a swimmer who had ventured too far out into Lake Pleasant. Authorities said Capt. Daniel F. Otero, 29, ran a quarter-mile, then swam almost 70 yards in an effort to rescue Carnelius Eugene Burditt, 24, but died before reaching the struggling swimmer. Burditt also drowned, authorities said. Both bodies were recovered within three hours. The men did not know each other, according to Maricopa County sheriff's spokeswoman Myrna Froning. She said Otero was a minister of the Church of Christ. Burditt was a gasoline-station attendant in Phoenix. Burditt got in trouble while swimming in the lake, 30 miles southeast of Wickenburg, at about 7:15 a.m., Mrs. Froning said. Burditt's wife, Joanna McCuin, 25, and her nephew, Anthony Deck, 19, tried to reach him but were unsuccessful and shouted for help, said John McCuin, Ms. McCuin's brother. When Otero, who was on the opposite bank, heard the shouts, he ran along the shore, then swam toward Burditt before "he was overcome and drowned before he got to the victim," Ms. Froning said. Relatives said Burditt, Ms. McCuin, their son and several nieces and nephews had spent the night at Lake Pleasant and were preparing to return home when Burditt went into the water to cool off. "He got out there, and all of a sudden started calling for help," McCuin said. "She (Ms. McCuin) just wants to blame herself because she's a lifeguard, and she can't imagine why she couldn't save him." Ms. McCuin worked at Eastlake Pool in Phoenix for two summers, McCuin said. See Also: Find A Grave |
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