Waukon native drowns saving colleague from same fate in Atlantic Ocean

The family of Waukon native Beth Otting has received word that she drowned in a bay of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Liberia in western Africa Friday, January 29 trying to save a colleague from the same fate. Otting was a 1982 graduate of Waukon High School and the daughter of Dan and Mary Ann Otting of Waukon and the late Helen Otting, and she had recently departed for Liberia to begin training as a lay missionary with the Society of African Missions organization in a remote region of that country.
A report received by the family from Otting's mission partner, Nick Passero, indicated that Otting was part of a group from the Society that was swimming in a locally popular cove area Friday during some recreational time prior to the start of the missionary training process. One of the members of the group, a deacon of the Society, reportedly ventured out too far and was caught within a strong current system.
The report further indicates that Otting noticed the deacon's struggles and swam over in an effort to help him, but the combination of the current and the deacon's struggles forced her under the water. Others in the group also swam out to assist, in addition to a local canoeist, and managed to get both Otting and the deacon ashore.
The deacon is expected to fully recover, but CPR and other lifesaving measures administered to Otting were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at the local hospital. In his report, Passero stated, "She saved our deacon's life and sacrificed herself for him."
An obituary and service information for Otting are anticipated for publication in a future edition of The Standard.