An aspiring pastor from Iowa who had been married for just three days drowned on Tuesday while honeymooning in Florida, officials say.
‘Yesterday afternoon while at the beach the Lord decided to call my husband Dalton to come home to him,’ Cheyenne Hedrick, 22, said on Facebook following the tragedy.
Cheyenne Hedrick and Dalton Cottrell, both 22, tied the knot on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, and were set to enjoy a lifetime of happiness when the newlyweds were swept away from shore by a strong current.
Cheyenne Hedrick and Dalton Cottrell, both 22, tied the knot on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, and were set to enjoy a lifetime of happiness when the newlyweds were swept away from shore by a strong current
‘Yesterday afternoon while at the beach the Lord decided to call my husband Dalton to come home to him,’ Cheyenne Hedrick, 22, said on Facebook following the tragedy
A GoFundMe has been created in hopes of raising money for Dalton’s memorial, though the family has not yet made funeral arrangements at this stage
Hedrick told police that it was Cottrell’s first time in the ocean and he began to ‘freak out,’ pulling her underwater with him as she tried to save him.
As the water got stronger, Hedrick told police that Dalton ‘began to struggle.’
‘She attempted to assist him, but was unable to help him due to him pulling her under,’ police said in a statement, KCRG-TV reported.
‘She advised at one point after him being under the water for approximately for a minute he came back up, and his eyes were rolled in the back of his head,’ police said.
The lifeguard dragged Cottrell, who was foaming at the mouth, to shore on his paddleboard and attempted to perform CPR but sadly he could not be saved.
Hedrick wrote on Facebook, ‘3 days of wedded bliss turned into a nightmare very quickly for the Cottrell family as well as mine own.’
The lifeguard dragged Cottrell, who was foaming at the mouth, to shore on his paddleboard and attempted to perform CPR but sadly he could not be saved
Cottrell and Hedrick were both seniors at Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa
‘There is so much fear and uncertainty coursing through myself. My parents came down early this morning to be with me as I begin this next journey,’ she continued.
‘Never did I think at 22 would I be a wife and then a widow so quickly. Please pray for I and all families as we grief [sic],’ she wrote.
A GoFundMe has been created in hopes of raising money for Dalton’s memorial, though the family has not yet made funeral arrangements at this stage. It has already raised more than $17,000.
Cottrell and Hedrick were both seniors at Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa.
The institution will be hosting a prayer and memorial on Tuesday night.
For Dr. Jim Tillotson, president of Faith Bible College, said: ‘Having just lost my mom a few weeks ago due to an accident, it was not advice that I needed but love, prayers and support.
‘I would like to encourage Eagle Nation to pray for, love, and support both Cheyenne and Dalton’s family. Let’s go heavy on love and light on advice.’
A GoFundMe has been created in hopes of raising money for Dalton’s memorial, though the family has not yet made funeral arrangements at this stage