ANKENY, IA — Dalton Cottrell wanted to serve as Jesus did and love his wife. The aspiring pastor and husband of three days died Tuesday while he and his wife, Cheyenne, were honeymooning in Florida. A land-locked Midwesterner, the 22-year-old had never been in the ocean before, and a rip current pulled the couple away from Crescent Beach and deep into the ocean.
The newlyweds, who were married Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, met at Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa, where both were seniors.
Cheyenne tried to save her husband as he “started to freak out” and struggled in the deep water, but was “unable to help due to him pulling her under,” according to a report from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office in northeast Florida.
A lifeguard quickly grabbed a paddleboard and went to Cottrell’s rescue, grabbing him after he disappeared under water for the last time and pulling him to the shore. Lifeguards attempted CPR, but were unable to revive him. Cottrell was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 2:12 p.m. Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said.
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His grieving widow, just days before a happy bride bubbling with the possibilities of their life together, posted a message on Facebook that was a testament to the couple’s faith.
She wrote that three days of “wedded bliss turned into a nightmare very quickly for the Cottrell family as well as mine own. Yesterday afternoon while at the beach, the Lord decided to call my husband, Dalton, to come home to Him. There is so much fear and uncertainty coursing through myself. … 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 [grieve]. … I love you so much Dalton Cottrell.”
The Rev. Daniel Vance, Cottrell’s pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church in Des Moines, told the Des Moines Register that “all of us kind of say the same thing” after learning the newlywed had drowned: “It’s hard to believe that he’s really gone. He was so full of life, so young and had so much potential.”
Vance said Cottrell “wanted to serve just like Jesus would; that’s what really stuck out to me about him — the way he gave of his time and talents to bless other people and to put them first.”
“I saw him do that with (Cheyenne) his girlfriend, fiancee and eventually his wife. He would put her first and wanted to care for her in every way that he could.”
The couple complemented each other, Vance said, describing Dalton as “an intense person.”
“And Cheynne very much cooled him down and helped him to just relax and have fun,” Vance told the Register. “It was fun to see the dynamic of their relationship. They were so perfect for one another.”
Vance, who had been the couple’s pastor for two years, said they volunteered for the church’s children’s ministry program.
Rip currents are extremely powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water that move at speeds of up to 8 feet per second — faster than an Olympic swimmer, according to the National Ocean Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The agency says on its website that thousands of people are rescued every year from rip currents, but about 100 of them drown — often because they panic and try to swim against it.
“If caught in a rip current, don’t fight it,” the agency says. “Swim parallel to the shore and swim back to land at an angle.”
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Chuck Mulligan told the Register that Cottrell likely tired himself out trying to swim through the waves.
“Mother Nature does have its inherent dangers, and yesterday Mr. Cottrell got involved in one of those natural occurrences,” Mulligan told the newspaper on Wednesday.
The seminary student’s sudden death stunned his school and church family, who clung to their faith.
“We feel terrible for Cheyenne and we feel terrible for the family, but we also have a hope that we will see him again one day,” Andy Stearns, a professor at Faith Bible College, told news station KCCI.
“We just choose to believe that God is truly good even when we don’t understand why a tragedy like this would happen,” Vance told the news outlet.
Faith Bible College President Jim Tillotson issued a statement after learning of Cottrell’s death:
“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 [the Faith Bible College] Eagle Nation to pray for, love, and support both Cheyenne and Dalton’s family. Let’s go heavy on love and light on advice. It is moments like this that Eagle Nation means the most. May we do all we can to support all of them through this difficult time.”
Funeral arrangements are pending. A GoFundMe campaign has been established to help with funeral expenses. It had nearly reached the $20,000 goal on Thursday morning, and Vance told the Register any money left over will be given to Cheyenne.
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