74-Year-Old Man Found Dead 6 Miles from Where He Was Last Seen After Being Swept Away by Floodwaters

Authorities in Arizona say they have recovered the body of a 74-year-old man who was swept away by floodwaters earlier this week.

The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office reported that David Otero was found dead along Big Bug Creek near its intersection with the Agua Fria River on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 20. Deputies said the location was about six miles from where he was last seen.

“Mr. Otero went missing on Tuesday afternoon after driving into rapidly moving flood waters on Big Bug Creek in the Cordes Lakes area,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. Search-and-rescue teams worked for nearly two days in difficult terrain before locating him.

Officials extended condolences to Otero’s family and thanked the agencies and volunteers who assisted in the search, including Central Arizona Fire and Medical, Mayer Fire, and AZDPS.

In an earlier release, the sheriff’s office said that around 3 p.m. Tuesday, residents near the East Fremont Drive and Thunderbird Trail crossing called 911 to report a vehicle “being swept away in raging floodwaters.”

Deputies arriving at the scene saw “a small sedan being carried away with two adult males on or near the trunk,” authorities said. As the vehicle began to roll, a deputy pulled one of the men to safety. That man, later identified as Edward Sapien, told authorities he had tried to help the driver after the car entered the creek and was carried downstream.

Otero, the driver, was last seen as the vehicle was pulled deeper into the current, the sheriff’s office said.

Sapien later told KTVK that he heard cries for help while driving home, saw Otero in the floodwaters, called 911, and jumped in to try to rescue him.

Otero, a Cordes Lakes resident, had left home around 3 p.m. Tuesday but never arrived at his destination, according to a relative who spoke with authorities.

Dilaila Apodaca, who identified herself as Otero’s niece, thanked Sapien for his attempt to save her uncle. “For him to go and try and help my uncle, that’s the biggest thing in the whole wide world. And to me that’s a hero,” she told Fox affiliate KSAZ.

Yavapai County was under severe thunderstorm and flash flood watches on Tuesday after heavy rainfall. Authorities urged residents not to drive or walk through floodwaters and to avoid travel until conditions improved.